v'^z'n 


The 
BOOK  of  SPORT 


<g&ttion  be  %uxt 

This   Edition   is   limited 

to    Fifteen    Hundred 

numbered    copies, 

of  which  this  is 

m72 


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V^  na. 


HENfty         ,        „„^T. 


THE 


BOOK  of  SPORT 


Edited    by    William     Patten 


Contrtljtitors 


Miss    RUTH     UNDERHILL 

Miss  BEATRIX   HOYT 

HERBERT    M.    HARRIMAN 

O.  H.  P.  BELMONT 

FOXHALL  KEENE 

RALPH  N.  ELLIS 

EDWARD  LAMONTAGNE 

H.  L.  HERBERT 

J.  PARMLY  PARET 

Irving  Cox 
albert  c.  bostwick 

geo.  richmond 


H.  H.  HUNNEWELL,  |r. 
T.  SUFFERN   TAILER 

LAWRENCE  m.  Stockton 

John  Jacob  astor 

John  e.  Cowdin 

h.  b.  duryea 

malcolm  d.  whitman 

W.  P.  Stephens 

Holcombe  Ward 

e.  h.  Miles 

findlay  s.  douglas 

FEARING,   Jr. 


J.   F.  TAYLOR  ^  COMPANY 
NEW    YORK      M  C  M  I 


Copyright,   1901 
J.   F.  Taylor  &  Company 


Most  of  the  portraits  having  been 
made  especially  for  the  publishers, 
their  reproduction  is  strictly  forbidden 


Golf — The  Women. 

Miss  Underbill,  Amateur  Cham- 
pion, 1899      .... 

A  Note  by  Miss  Beatrix  Hoyt, 
Amateur  Champion,  1896,  '97, 
and  '98  .... 

Women's  Championship  Records. 
Compiled  by  H.  L.  FitzPatrick. 

Golf — The  Men. 

By    H.   M.   Harriman,  Champion 
1899      .... 

A  Note  by  Findlay  S.  Douglas, 
Champion,  1898 

Amateur  Championship  Records 
Compiled  by  H.  L.  FitzPatrick 

Court-Tennis,  Racquets, 
Hand^Fives  and  Squash- 
Tennis. 
By  Eustace  H.  Miles,  Winner  of 
the  Gold  Prize  at  Cambridge, 
1897,  '9^5  '99'  ^'^'^  Amateur 
Champion  of  England  and  the 
United  States  at  Court-Tennis, 
and  of  the  United  States  and 
of  Canada  at  Racquets  and 
Squash-Tennis 


Page 


16 
41 

47 
66 
76 


83 


New  York  and  Tuxedo  Court- 
Tennis  and  Court-Tennis 
Players. 
By  T.  SufFern  Tailer  .  .  .101 

Court-Tennis  in   Boston  and 

Its   Players. 

From  Notes  collected  and  arranged 

by    George   Richmond   Fearing, 

Jr.     Winner    of    the    Nationa' 


Page 

Championship  for  Court-Tennis, 
1897  ;  and  L.  M.  Stockton, 
Winner  of  the  National  Cham- 
pionship for  Court-Tennis, 
i896-'98,  '99  ;  .  .Ill 

Racquets  in    New  York   and 
Its  Players. 
By  Edward  La  Montagne    .  .121 

The  Boston  Racquet  Players. 
By  H.  H.  Hunnewell,  Jr.,  Winner 
of  the   Club  Championship   for 
Racquets,  B.  A.  A.,  1897  .    127 

Racquets  and  Racquet  Play- 
ers AT  Philadelphia. 
From  Notes  Furnished   by  Walter 
Rogers  Furness        .  .  -131 

Polo  in  America. 

By  John  E.  Cowdin     .  .  -137 

Polo  in  England. 

By  Foxhall  Keene        .  .  -163 

Polo   Ponies. 

By  H.  L.  Herbert        .  .  .166 

Polo     Association      Member- 
ship, 1890-1900         .  .  175 

Song  "  The  Girls  Who  Ride." 
From  "The  Songs  of  Myopia  "     .180 

FoX-HuNTING  AND   DrAG-HuNTING. 

By   Ralph   N.  Ellis,   M.   F.   H., 
Meadowbrook  .  .  .181 


J^^ 


VI 


Table  of  Contents 


Song  "The  Road." 

From  "The  Light  of  Other  Days."     By  S. 
Nicholson  Kane            .          .          .          . 

Page 

218 

The  Chronology  of   Lawn-Tennis. 
By    J.    Parmly     Paret.       Winner    of   All 
Comers,  1899 

Page 

Coaching. 

By  OHver  H.  P.   Belmont 

219 

Yachting — Ideas  and  Opinions  of  a 

Automobiles  and  Aeitomobiling. 

Racing  Owner. 
By  H.  B.  Duryea    .          .          . 

331 

By  Albert  C.  Bostwick    .... 

243 

The    Automobile  and   its    Relation 
to  Good  Roads. 

A  Half-Century  of  American  Yacht- 
ing. 

By  Colonel  John  Jacob  Astor  . 

275 

By  W.  P.   Stephens          .          . 

341 

The    Theory    of    Play    in    Modern 
Lawn-Tennis. 
By     Malcolm     D.    Whitman,    Champion, 
(Singles)  1898,  '99,  igoo     . 

283 

Steam -Yachting — The    Ideas    of    a 
Designer. 
By  Irving  Cox         ..... 

3«S 

The  Theory  of  the  Modern  Game  of 

Doubles. 
By  Holcombe  Ward,  Champion  (Doubles), 
1899-1900         .          .          .          .          . 

301 

Steam-Yachting  in  America. 

By  W.  P.  Stephens          .... 

391 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Page 

Page 

The    Girl    who    Rides             .            .        Frontispiece 

Miss  Marion  Oliver    .... 

27 

From  a  painting  by  Henry  ffiitt. 

Marginal  drawing  of  Miss  Oliver. 

The  Robert  Cox  Trophy     . 

I 

Mrs.  C.  F.  Fox          .        ■ . 

•    28 

Miss  Underhill.     At  the  top  of  a  Swing 

2 

Prominent  Players  of  Philadelphia 

29 

Mrs.  H.  B.  Ashmore  .... 

•       4 

Miss  Genevieve  Hecker 

30 

Miss   Frances  C.  Griscom   . 

•       5 

Mrs.  R.  C.  Hooper    .... 

31 

Winner  of  the  Amateitr  Championsliip,  jgoo. 

The  Morris  County  Team,  1900 

33 

Miss  Griscom.     A  Mashie  Approach    . 

.       6 

Miss  Margaret  Curtis 

35 

Mrs.  Edward  A.  Manice      . 

■       7 

Miss  Helen  F.  Bishop 

36 

Miss  Edith  B.  Burt    .... 

.       8 

Marginal  drawing  of  Miss  Burt. 

Miss  Georgianna  M.  Bishop 

37 

Mrs.  J.  Franklin  McFadden 

•       9 

Miss  Lucy  Herron      .... 

39 

Marginal  draiuitig  of  Mrs.  McFadden, 

Miss   Marvin 

40 

Miss  Katharine  M.  Rowland 

.     10 

Miss  Louise  Maxwell 

43 

Miss  Eunice  Terry     .... 

.     II 

Championship  Badge,  1899 

44 

Marginal  drawing  of  Miss  Terry. 

The  Havemeyer  Trophy 

45 

Mrs.  W.  B.  Mcllvaine 

.     12 

H.  M.  Harriman          .... 

46 

Mrs.  H.  C.  Chatfield-Taylor 

•     13 

The  Finish  of  an  Iron  Shot. 

Miss  Sargent      ..... 

•■     14 

John  Reid,  Jr.    . 

.     48 

Miss  Ruth  Underhill  .... 

•     IS 

Charles  Hitchcock,  Jr.          .          .          . 

49 

Winner  of  t]ie  Championship,  iSgg. 

James  A.  Tyng            .          .          ,          . 

50 

Miss  Maude  K.  Wetmore   . 

■      17 

W.  J.  Travis 

51 

Mrs.  William  Shippen 

.      18 

The  Finish  of  a  Full  Iron  Shot. 

Marginal  draining  of  Mrs.  Shippen. 

R.  E.  Griscom   .          .          .          . 

53 

Miss  Elsie  F.  Cassatt 

•      19 

Hugo  R.  Johnstone    .... 

54 

Marginal  drawing  of  Miss  Cassatt. 

Marginal  drawing  of  PI u go  R.  Johnstone. 

Miss  May  Barron        .... 

.     20 

Percy  R.  Pyne,  2nd    .... 

54 

Mrs.  A.  De  Witte  Cochrane 

.     21 

Walter  J.  Travis         .... 

55 

Mrs.  W.  J.  Berg        .... 

.     22 

Winner  of  the  Championship,  igoo. 

Miss  Beatrix  Hoyt      .... 

■     23 

Walter  B.  Smith          .... 

57 

Win7ter  of  the  Amateur  Championship,  i8g6,  '9; 

7,  'g8. 

Roderick  Terry,  Jr.    . 

57 

Miss  Hoyt's  Follow  Through 

■       24 

H.  B.  Hollins,  Jr 

58 

Miss  Grace  Fargo       .... 

■       25 

R.  C.  Watson,  Jr 

58 

Mrs.  W.  Fellowes  Morgan 

.       26 

Chester  Griswold,  Jr.            ... 

59 

Vlll 


List  of  Illustrations 


Page 

Page 

J.  G.  Averell 

59 

Diagram  of  Court-Tennis  Court  . 

.      92 

DaviJ  R.  Forgan         ..... 

60 

Newbold  Etting 

•      93 

Findlay  S.   Douglas     ..... 

61 

George  T.  Rice 

■      94 

VVinnei'  of  the  CJtanipionship,  iSgS. 
Walter  Fairbanks        ..... 
J.  G.  Thorp 

Herbert  M.  Harriman           .... 

Wiiiiii:)'  of  the  C/iampionshif,  jSi^g. 

63 

64 

65 

F.  R.  Sears         .... 
Maurice  La  Montagne 
Morton  Paton    .... 
0.  S.  Campbell 

•  94 
■     95 

•  95 
.          .     96 

C.  B.  Macdonald 

67 

Lawrence  M.  Stockton 

•     97 

Winthrop  Rutherfurd            .... 

68 

Winner  of  National  Cha?npionship  for 
iSgb,  iS<)8—iS<)<). 

Racquets, 

Findlay  S.   Douglas  at  the  End  of  his  Stroke 

Hand  Fives         .... 

.       .    98 

on  the  Tee     ...... 

69 

W.  B.  Dinsmore,  Jr. 

•    99 

A.  G.  Lockwood         ..... 

70 

J\largijial  dra7i>ing.     Defending  the  Grille,  Tennis. 

A  Full  Swing. 

Marginal  drawing 

.     lOI 

Gardiner  G.  Hubbard           .... 

71 

Preparing  for  the  Backhand  Stroke,   Tennis. 

Jasper  Lynch     ...... 

72 

J.  Macdonough  .... 

.     102 

J.  A.  StiUman 

72 

E.  A.  Thomson 

•     103 

Reginald  Brooks          ..... 

73 

Charles  Sands     .... 

.     104 

A.  M.  Robbins 

73 

T.  Suffern  Tailer 

.     105 

A.  M.  Coats 

74 

James  Henry  Smith    . 

.     106 

H.   J.  Whigham 

74 

John  S.  Tooker 

.     107 

Henry  P.  Toler            ..... 
M.  R.  Wright 

75 
75 

B.  S.  de  Garmendia    . 

Marginal  dra'oing.        Waiting  for   the 
Racquets. 

.     108 

Service. 

From  the  Statue  by  Fitzgerald  Peploe    . 

82 

Hon.  Michael  Herbert 

.    109 

Quincy  A.  Shaw,  Jr.             .... 
Philip  S.  Sears 

84 
84 

Marginal  drawing.      Forehand  Stroke. 

Cecil  Baring       .... 

Tennis. 

'.   no 

Austin  Potter     ...... 

85 

W.  E.  Glyn       .... 

.     112 

Payne  Whitney  ...... 

85 

Alexander  Morten       .          .          .          .          -113 

Marginal  drawing.     Preparing  to  take  the  Service. 

Arthur  Hunnewell       ..... 

86 

Tennis. 

Marginal  drawmg.      The  Correct  Way  of  Holding 
the  Racquet,   Tennis. 

Robert  G.  Shaw          ..... 

87 

C.  Lawrence  Perkins 

Alarginal  drawing.      Tennis. 

George  Richmond  Fearing,  Jr. 

-.         .114 

.  115 

Edgar  Scott         ...... 

88 

Winner  of  the  National  Championship  for-  Court 

Walter  Rogers  Furness         .... 

88 

Tennis,  iSgy. 

Hugh  D.  Scott 

89 

Thomas  Pettitt  .... 

.  116 

James  Potter      ...... 

89 

M.  S.  Barger      .... 

.  117 

Nathaniel  Thayer        ..... 

90 

Fiske  Warren    .... 

.  118 

Eustace  H.  Miles        ..... 

91 

Joshua  Crane     .... 

.  119 

Amateur   Champion   of  England  and  the    United 
States  at  Court-Tennis,  and  of  the  United  States 

Robert  Bacon    .... 

.     120 

and  of  Canada  at  Racquets  and  Squash-  Tennis. 

Edward  La  Montagne 

•     123 

Lift  of  Illustrations 


IX 


Page 

Page 

Preparing  to  serve   Racquets 

• 

124 

Benjamin  NicoU           .           .           .           .           . 
Marginal  drawing.      Flushing  System  for  Field. 

159 

Clarence  H.  Mackay  . 

125 

H.  H.  HunnewelI,Jr. 

129 

George  W.  Kendrick,  3d     . 

160 

Winner  of  the   Club   ChampionsJdp  for 

Racquets 

Marginal  drazving.      A  Miss.     Polo. 

B.  A.  A.,  iSgy. 

Allan  Forbes      ...... 

161 

Alfred  Tompkins 

130 

H.  L.  Herbert 

167 

The  Markers'  Court  . 

130 

Chairman  of  Polo  Association. 

Marginal    drawing.      Service    from 

the 

left- 

W.  W.  Keith 

168 

hand  court.      Racquets     . 

13' 

Charles  Wheeler          .... 

168 

Marginal  drawing.   Waiting   for  the 

forehand 

William  C.  Eustis       .... 

169 

Stroke.      Racquets  . 

• 

133 

R.  L.  Beekman            .... 

170 

Polo  Association  Championship  Cup 

135 

Jay  B.  Lippincott        .... 

171 

International  Polo  Challenge  Cup 

136 

Marginal  drawing.     A  Close  Call.    Polo. 

Won  by  the  Iliirlhighajti  Team  at  Newp 

ort. 

Charles  Cary      ..... 

172 

Harry  Payne  Whitney 

. 

138 

Marginal  dra^ving. 

Lawrence  Waterbury 

173 

Albert  Edward  Kennedy 

139 

"Stumpy" 

176 

Samuel  D.  Warren 

. 

140 

Marginal  drawings.      Polo  Cups   . 

177 

John  E.  Cowdin 

141 

A  Polo  Patron 

178 

Polo   Ponies.      Mr.   Cowdin's  "Jay 

Gould," 

Redmond  C.  Stewart  .... 

182 

Mr.  Cowdin's    "Ellis"    . 

• 

142 

Edward,  L.  Smith         .... 

•    183 

"  Well  Backed  Savage  !  "     . 

• 

143 

Miss  Florence  Dobson 

.    184 

F.  S.  Conover,  Jr.       . 

• 

144 

Miss  Bessie  Dobson  (Mrs.  L.  C.  Altemus) 

185 

C.  C.  Baldwin    .... 

145 

Mrs.  J.  L.  Kernochan  on  "  Rebel  " 

.    186 

Marginal  draioing.      ]Vaiting  for  the  Ball. 

Mrs.  A.  Ladenberg  on  "  Goodboy  " 

.    187 

George  J.  Gould 

146 

Ross  W.  Whistler       .... 

.    188 

H.  H.  Holmes  .... 

147 

Mrs.  Robert  E.  Strawbridge 

.     189 

George  P.  Eustis 

148 

Type  of  English  Hound  at  Meadowbrook 

.     190 

A  Lakewood-Devon  Game 

149 

E.  A.  Jackson    ..... 

191 

Sidney  Dillon  Ripley  . 

150 

Marginal  drawing.      Riding  for  Searf. 

William  A.  Hazard     . 

151 

Leander  W.  Riddle     .... 

.    192 

J.  M.  Waterbury,  Jr. 

152 

Marginal  drawings.     Genesee  Games.    Riding  Tat 

Marginal  drawing.       Persian    Chang'an    or 

Bolc 

dem. 

Stieks.      Seventeenth  Century. 

Ralph  N.  Ellis,  M.F.H.,  Meadowbrook 

■    193 

Robert  G.  Shaw,  2d 

153 

Mr.  Ellis's  Hunter  "  Baritone  "     . 

194 

Stanley  Mortimer 

154 

Robert  E.  Strawbridge 

•    195 

Foxhall  Keene   .          .          .          . 

155 

Marginal  drawing.      Slicing  the  Lemon. 

E.  C.  Potter       .... 

156 

Mrs.  George  L.  Peabody  on  "  Sepoy  " 

.    196 

P.  F.  Collier      .... 

157 

Mrs.  Bryce  Allan  on  "  Starlight  " 

•    197 

R.  L.  Agassiz    .... 

158 

Charles  E.  Mather,  M.F.H.,  Radnor     . 

.    198 

List  of  Illustrations 


P.ige 

Page 

A  Group  of  Hunters  at  the  Bryii  Mawr  Horse 

James  V.  Parker          .... 

226 

Show,  1900         .          .          .          .          . 

'99 

Theodore  A.  Havemeyer,  Sr. 

.    227 

Mrs.  Ross  W.  Whistler       .          .          .          . 

200 

Barclay  H.  Warburton 

.    228 

Edward  F.  Beale          .          .          .          .          . 

201 

The  Club  House  at  Jerome  Park 

.    229 

Miii-i^iim/  dnrd'iii^.     On  the  Way  to  the  I^lcet, 

F.  A.  B.  Portman,  M.F.H.,  Warrenton  Hunt 

W.  Seward  Webb       .... 

■    230 

Club 

202 

W.  Watts  Sherman     .... 

•    230 

Captain    Samuel    D.    Parker,    M.F.H.,    Nor- 

The Arrival  at  the  Brunswick 

231 

folk  Hunt  Club 

202 

W.  L.  Elkins,  Jr 

232 

Major   VV.  A.  Wadsworth,  M.F.H.,  Genesee 

C.  Davis  English         .... 

232 

Valley  Hunt         .          .          .          .          . 

203 

Edward  Browning       .          .          .          . 

232 

Dr.  C.  A.  Dohan,  M.F.H.,  Lima  Hunt  Club   . 

203 

E.  B.  Smith        ..... 

232 

Marginal  ttro'ving.     Dr.  Doha/i's  "  Tronbl^y 

F.  Gray  Griswold        .          .          .          .          . 

204 

James  J.  Van  Alen      .... 

233 

H.  W.  Smith 

204 

W.  K.  Vanderbilt        .... 

233 

In  the  Meadowbrook  Country 

205 

George  R.  Read          .... 

234 

Mrs.  C.  G.  Rice  on  "  Ladylike  " 

206 

A.  J.  Cassatt      ..... 

235 

Mr.  C.  G.  Rice  on  "  Dr.  Felix  " 

207 

Neilson  Brown  .          .          .          . 

235 

Henry  W.  Bull 

208 

George   R.  Fearing      .... 

236 

George  von  L.  Meyer          .... 

208 

Some    Members  of  the   Coaching  Club,  and 

their  Friends        .... 

237 

Samuel  W.  Hopkins   ..... 

209 

Bryce  Allan 

238 

John  Rulon  Miller 

209 

iMargiiia/  dra'i<ilig.      Plenty  of  these  iloion  Meadow- 

Harrison  K.  Caner      .... 

238 

brook  loay. 

Fairman  Rogers           .... 

239 

Maxwell  Stevenson     ..... 

210 

Robert  L.  Gerry          .... 

240 

L.  C.  Altemus  ...... 

21 1 

Marginal  drawing.     Button  of  Coaching  Club. 

Marginal  drawing.      Training  a  Hunter. 

Alfred  G.  Vanderbilt  .... 

240 

Frank  Seabury    ...... 

212 

W.  C.  Gulliver            .... 

241 

Mrs.  R.  G.  Shaw,  2d           .... 

213 

De  Lancey  A.  Kane  .          .          .      '     . 

241 

Mrs.  E.  A.  Jackson 

214 

Four-in-Hand  Club  Badge  . 

241 

Colt  Hyllas  Hercules— The  Shrew 

215 

246 

A.  R.  Shattuck  .          .          .          .          .    •  - 

Mrs.  Ladenberg           ..... 

216 

R.  R.  Conklin 

247 

"  The  Road  "    . 

218 

Marginal   drawing.      Mixed   Race  Cup,   Ne-wfort 
Races,  igoo.     Presented  by  Mrs.  Herman  Oel- 
richs. 

Edward  Morrell 

220 

George  P.  Wetmore   . 

221 

Alexander  Winton       .          .          .          .          . 

248 

F.  K.  Sturgis 

222 

A.  L.  Riker 

249 

F.  T.  Underbill 

222 

J.  Dunbar  Wright       .          .          .          .          . 

250 

Oliver  H.  P.  Belmont 

223 

Albert    C.    Bostwick,    Vice-President    of   the 

Reginald  W.  Rives      . 

225 

Automobile  Club          .          .          .          . 

251 

Colonel  William  Jay  . 

225 

Eugene  H.  Lewis        .          .          .          .          . 

252 

List  of  I/lustrations 


XI 


Willard  P.  Reid 

William  H.  Hall 

G.  Creighton  Webb   . 

Marginal  drawing.    Cup  presented  by  IV.  H. 
derhiJt,  Jr. ,  Ntnvport  Races,  Steam.  Class. 

Dr.  Truman  J.  Martin 
Colonel  Albert  A.  Pope 
Hon.  Josiah  Ouincy   . 
Edwin  W.  Adams 
Charles  R.  Flint 

Marginal  draiuivg.      Electric  Class  Cttp. 

Charles  R.  Otis 

Samuel  T.  Davis,  Jr.- 

Le  Droict  Langdon  Barber 

George  Isham  Scott    . 

J.  Wesley  Allison 

E.  G.  Fabbri      . 

George  F.  Chamberlin 


Margi7ial  drawing.      Cup  presented  by  Mrs. 


P.    Belmont  for    Gasoline 
Races 


Carleton  Macy  . 

Dave  H.  Morris 

J.  M.  Ceballos  . 

S.  S.  Wheeler     . 

H.  W.  Hedge    . 

Miss  Madeleine  I.  Goddard 

Colonel  John  Jacob  Astor 

C.  Gray  Dinsmore 

John  H.  Flagler 

Mrs.  George  B.  de  Forrest 

Mrs.  J.  Lawrence  Van  Alen 

The  Davis  International  Challenge  Trophy    . 

Whitman's  Cautious  Style  of  Defensive  Play   . 

R.  D.  Sears 


Tricycles, 


Van- 


O.  H. 

Newport 


H.  W.  Slocum,  Jr. 

Mtmginal    drawing, 
{bank  hand) 

Dr.  W.  V.  Eaves 
Clarence  Hobart 


Typical  Americaji     Volley 


Page 
252 

252 

255 

256 

257 
258 

259 
260 

261 
262 
263 
264 
265 

266 
267 
269 
271 
272 

273 
276 

277 
278 
278 

279 
280 
281 
282 
284 
285 

286 
287 


Malcolm  D.  Whitman,  Champion  in  Singles, 
1898,  1899,  1900 

Low  Volley 

M.  F.  Goodbody 

G.  M.  Brinley   . 

One    of  Larned's    Easy    Back-hand    Passing 

Strokes 
Forehand  Ground  Stroke 

F.  H.  Hovey     .  .  . 

Marginal  drawing.      Twist  {reverse)  Serz'ice. 
W.  A.  Earned   .... 

G.  L.  Wrenn,  Jr.        . 
R.  D.  Wrenn    .... 
The  Everlasting  Attack  of  Wrenn 
Carr  B.  Neel      .... 
Samuel  R.  Neel 

Davis's  New  Twist  Service,  1900 
Dwight   F.  Davis,  Champion  (with  Ward) 

Doubles  1899,  igoo    . 
Back-hand  Ground  Stroke    . 
The  New  Defensive  Position  of  the  Si 
The  Smash         .... 
J.  A.  Allen        .... 

E.  P.  Fischer     .... 
Richard  Stevens 
Holcombe  Ward,  Champion  (with   Davis) 

Doubles  1899,  1900    . 
Typical  American  Volley  (forehand) 

F.  B.  Alexander 
R.  D.  Little       . 
L.  E.  Ware       . 
George  P.  Sheldon 
Beals  C.  Wright 
R.  P.  Huntington 
J.  C.  Davidson  . 
J.  Parmly  Paret 
Krieg  Collins 
George  F.  Whitney 


fage 

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312 

313 

3H 
315 
315 
316 

317 
318 

3'9 
320 
321 

322 
322 


Xll 


List  of  Illustrations 


Lawn  Tennis  at  Newport 
Miss  Myrtle  McAteer 
Samuel  Hardy     . 
C.  Sumner  Hardy 
Miss  Juliette  P.  Atkinson 
Miss  Marion  Jones     . 
A.  Bryan  Alley  . 
Charles  F.  Adams,  2d 
John  F.  Lovejoy 
H.  B.  Duryea     . 
Dr.  John  Bryant 

Marginal  drawing.     El  Chico  (2^-foot  class) 
A  Start  of  the  Thirty-Footers 

Small  drawing,     Defender  on  the  Ways 
Robert  Center    . 
J.  R.  Busk 

Oliver  E.  Cromwell  . 
George  H.  Richards  . 
Howard  W.  Coates    . 

The   Larchmont  Yacht    Club,    Ladies'   Day 
Race  Week 

F.  M.  Hoyt 

The  Harbor  at  Larchmont 

From  the  Club  House. 

Augustin  Monroe 
Oswald  Sanderson 
Richard  S.  Palmer 
Bayard  Thayer  . 
Atlantic  Yacht  Club   . 


Glor 


Small  drawing.     Hostess — -a 
of  the  II  foot  class    . 

R.  P.  Doremus  . 

Marginal  drawing.      The 

E.  A.  WiUard    . 

Marginal  drawing.   The  Dog, 

Edward  Burgess 
J.  Frederic  Tarns 
Rutherfurd  Stuyvesant 
Charles  J.  Paine 
C.  Oliver  Iselin 
William  Krebs  . 
J.  R.  Maxwell  . 


modern  Racin 


dock. 


■iana  in  dry 
'ook  {2i-foot  sctna 


Frea. 


class) 


Page 

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347 
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350 
351 
352 
353 

354 
355 

356 

357 
358 

359 
360 
361 
362 
363 


Henry  C.  Rouse 
The  Seawanhaka-Corinthian   Yacht    CI 
Oyster  Bay 

August  Belmont 
L.  F.  d'Oremieulx 
Archibald  Rogers 

A.  Cary  Smith   .... 

Marginal  drawing.      Titania,  jo  footer. 

John  Hyslop      .... 

Marginal  drawing.      The  Shona,  a  iVatson 

C.  Smith  Lee     . 

Henry  Bryant     . 

E.  D.  Morgan   . 

New  Club-  house  of  the  New  York  Yacht 

W.  Butler  Duncan,  Jr. 

Newbury  D.  Lawton 

Frederick  T.  Adams 

S.  Nicholson  Kane 

Marginal  drawing.      Gloriaita  in  dock 

Theodore  C.  Zerega 
J.  Pierpont  Morgan 
What  Speed  Means 
William  Astor    . 
E.  S.  JafFray 
James  Gordon  Bennett 
A.  J.  Drexel 
Thomas  W.  Lawson 
Eugene  Tompkins 
A.  L.  Barber      . 

E.  C.  Benedict  . 
Isaac  E.  Emerson 
Alexander  Van  Rensselaer 
Evans  R.  Dick  . 
Howard  Gould  . 
J.  E.  Widener   . 
H.  Walters 
J.  Murray  Mitchell 

F.  G.  Bourne    . 
J.  Harvey  Ladew 
C.  H.  Postley     . 
H.  Clay  Pierce  . 


ub  at 


Club, 


Page 
364 

365 

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368 

369 

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403 
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410 


GOLF ::  THE  WOMEN 


MISS  UNDERHILL 

Amateur  Champion,   J  899 

MISS    H  O  Y  T 

Amateur  Champion,   '96,   '97,   '98 


The  Robert  Cox  Trophy. 


GOLF-THE    WOMEN 

BY     MISS     UNDERHILL 
WITH  A  NOTE  BY  MISS  HOYT 


E  all  know  that  Scotland  is  the  birthplace  of  golf;  we  know,  too, 
that  the  game  has  been  played  there  for  several  hundred  years  ; 
but  very  tew  ot  us  know  that  women's  golf,  properly  so-called, 
is  but  little  older  in  Scotland  and  England  than  in  the  United 
States.  This  does  not  mean  that  women  did  not  play  occasion- 
ally hundreds  of  years  ago  ;  in  fact,  there  are  several  well-known 
instances  of  their  doing  so  back  as  far  as  the  reign  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots, 
but  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  practice  of  these  players  would  hardly  come 
under  the  same  head  as  the  game  of  the  present  day.  There  may,  of  course, 
have  been  obscure  experts  whom  history  does  not  tell  of,  but  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  there  were  no  women  golfers  of  importance  until  after  1890. 

The  following  extract  from  the  famous  Badminton  Book,  published  in  that 
year,  gives  an  excellent  idea  of  the  condition  of  the  game  ten  years  ago  : 
"  Ladies'  links  should  be  laid  out  on  the  model,  though  on  a  smaller  scale,  of 
the  '  long  round  ;  '  containing  some  short  putting  holes,  some  longer  holes, 
admitting  of  a  drive  or  two  of  seventy  or  eighty  yards,  and  a  few  suitable  haz- 
ards. We  venture  to  suggest  seventy  or  eighty  yards  as  the  average  limit  of  a 
drive  advisedly,  not  because  we  doubt  a  lady's  power  to  make  a  longer  drive, 
but  because  that  cannot  well  be  done  without  raising  the  club  above  the  shoul- 
der. Now  we  do  not  presume  to  dictate,  but  we  must  observe  that  the  posture 
and  gestures  requisite  for  a  full  swing  are  not  particularly  graceful  when  a 
player  is  clad  in  female  dress." 

It  is,  in  fact,  on  this  principle  that  most  of  the  women's  links  of  the 
United  Kingdom  have  been  laid  out ;  the  famous  women's  course  at  St. 
Andrew's,  established  in  1867,  which  was  probably  the  first  concession  made  to 
feminine  golfers,  is  little  more  than  a  succession  of  putting  greens  ;  while  the 
other  greens,  of  which  a  great  number  were  laid  out  between  1890  and  1895, 
are,  as  a  rule,  so  short  that  it  would  seem  to  us  merely  an  aggravation  to  play 
on  them,  accustomed  as  we  are  to  the  men's  long  links.  Many  of  the  holes 
are  simply  approach  shots  of  seventy  or  eighty  yards,  and  few  of  the  courses  can 
boast  of  more  than  one  or  two  holes  over  two  hundred  yards  in  length  ;  while 
the  putting  greens  are  small  and  the  hazards  tricky  and  often  arranged  with  the 
expectation  that  no  player  will  drive  over  one  hundred  yards.  The  bogey  is 
usually  from  seventy  to  seventy-five,  and  on  a  basis  of  liberal  allowance  at  that  ; 

3 


4 


Golf —  the    Women 


although  we  must  remember  that  these  short  and  confined  courses  as  a  rule 
require  unusually  accurate  play.  It  is  on  such  links  as  these  that  the  English 
women  have  learned  the  game,  and  it  is  all  the  more  to  their  credit  that  they 
not  only  play  with  linish  and  precision,  but  possess  a  brilliancy  and  power  in 
the  lone  eame  which  few  or  none  of  our  women  can  rival.  The  better 
players,  of  course,  have  opportunities  to  use  the  men's  courses,  and  this  in  itself 

tive  to  good  play. 

in  England  took  no  or- 


must   be   a  great   incen- 

The  women's  game 
ganized  form  until  1893, 
Union  was  established  ; 
in  this  direction  the 
men,  for  the  Ladies' 
eral  golf  organization  in 
eleven  clubs  and  in  1898 
ject  was  primarily  to  ar- 
pionship,but  it  also  holds 
authority  on  women's 
of  reference  for  the  dif- 
lishing  par  scores  for  the 
it  promotes  uniformity 
places  the  clubs  on  an 
the  English  women  to  do 
United  States  Golf  Asso- 
to  do  for  us,  and  some- 

The  first  champion- 
St.  x^nne's-on-the-Sea, 
Lady  Margaret  Scott,  who  also  gained  the  title  in  1894  and  1895.  The 
first  entries  were  thirty-eight,  and  since  that  time  they  have  increased  greatly 
until  now  they  usually  come  close  to  one  hundred.  The  succeeding  cham- 
pionships were  won  in  1896  by  Miss  Pascoe,  in  1897  by  Miss  Thomson, 
in  1898  by  Miss  E.  C.  Orr,  in  1899  by  Miss  Hezlett,  and  in  1900  by 
Miss  Adair.  In  England  as  in  America  the  championship  history  of  the 
game  opened  with  the  reign  of  a  three  years'  champion  who  was  head  and 
shoulders  above  all  her  rivals.  Lady  Margaret  Scott  appears  to  have  been  as 
supreme  in  her  country  as  Miss  Hoyt  was  here  ;  and  though  in  England  and 
Scotland  golfers  have  since  appeared  who  rank  at  least  equal  with  their  first 
champion,  still  the  latter  will  always  be  remembered  as  one  of  the  steadiest, 
most  graceful,  and  most  accurate  players  who  ever  went  over  the  links  ;  while 
in  this  country  Miss  Hoyt  has  kept  pace  with  her  newer  rivals  and  still  stands 
at  the  head  of  the  list  of  our  women  experts. 


Mrs.  H.  B.  Ashmore. 


when  the  Ladies'  Golf 
and  it  is  noticeable  that 
women  outstripped  the 
Union  was  the  first  gen- 
England.  It  started  with 
numbered  fifty  ;  its  ob- 
range  the  annual  cham- 
and  exercises  supreme 
golf,  acting  as  a  court 
ferent  clubs  and  estab- 
courses,  by  which  means 
of  handicapping  and 
even  footing.  It  enables 
for  themselves  what  the 
elation  is  kind  enough 
thing  more. 

ship  was  held  in  1893  at 
and   was  easily   won   by 


Miss  Frances  C.   Griscom, 

Winner  of  the   Amateur    Championship,    /goo. 


Golf —  the    Women 


7 


Besides  the  championship  there  are  in  England  and  Scotland  every  year  a 
number  of  large  open  tournaments,  or  "  open  meetings,"  as  they  are  called,  for 
which  the  entries  often  mount  over  one  hundred.  These  consist,  as  a  rule,  of  a 
single  medal-play  round,  which  would  seem  to  us  a  questionable  way  of  decid- 
ing a  tournament,  but  which  has 
the  advantage  of  shortening  the 
time  required  for  play.  The  clubs 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  cham- 
pionship course  often  throw  open 
their  links  for  this  purpose,  and 
thus  give  the  women  the  oppor- 
tunity of  trying  several  courses  in 
a  short  time.  In  1898  there  were 
eleven  of  these  open  meetings,  and 
the  number  of  them  is  steadily  in- 
creasing. 

Team  matches  are  also  very 
popular  and  are  played  with  much 
larger  sides  than  we  could  muster ; 
one  form  of  competition  especially 
is  much  used  which  has  not  yet 
been  introduced  in  America.  It 
amounts  to  a  medal  -  play  team 
match,  and  consists  of  adding  the 
gross  scores  of  all  the  members  oi 
each  team,  the  lowest  total,  of 
course,  winning  ;  by  this  means 
any   number   of  teams   are  able   to 

play  for  the  same  trophy  in  one  day.      Several  inter-club  and  inter-county  per- 
petual challenge  cups  are  competed  for  annually  in  this  manner. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  in  a  competition  between  English  players  and 
ours  the  result  would  be  unfavorable  to  this  country.  If  we  take  the  best- 
known  golfers  we  find  in  the  United  Kingdom  between  twenty  and  thirty 
women  who  are  rated  at  scratch  and  may  be  counted  on  to  play  clean  and  even 
golf;  while  our  front  rank  numbers  only  ten  or  fifteen  and  our  scratch  standard 
is  undoubtedly  below  that  of  the  English  women  ;  for,  although  our  golfers  are 
occasionally  brilliant,  with  the  exception  of  Miss  Hoyt,  and  possibly  Miss  Gris- 
com,  they  lack  steadiness.  So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  gather  from  the 
opinions  of  those  having  any  knowledge  of  conditions  on  both  sides  of  the 
ocean,  it  seems  probable  that  Miss  Hoyt  is  the  only  player  our  country  has  yet 


Mrs.  Edward  A.  Manice. 


8 


Golf —  the    Women 


\-     If"- 


\.v 


produced  who  sufficiently  combines  these  two  quaUties  to  enable  her  to 
compete  on  approximately  even  terms  with  the  scratch  players  of  Great 
Britain. 

The  difference  in  the  play  of  the  two  countries  may  be  seen  if  we  look  at 
the  medal-play  scores  in  the  open  tournaments  ;  in  America  they  come  in  rag- 
gedly, one  or  two  cards  perhaps  leading  the  field  by  five  or  six  strokes,  then  a 
few  scattering  scores,  and  then  a  bunch  of  mediocrity  which  represents  the  field. 


In  England  and  Scot- 
winner,  as  a  rule,  is 
seldom  more  than  a 
tween  her  and  her 
is  close  at  their  heels 
of  good  and  even 
shows  that  our  golf 
regular,  while  in 
comparatively  steady, 
have,  of  course,  had 
eral  additional  years 
surroundings  of 
ers  among  the  men. 
first  championship 
years,  but  also  they 
especially  in  Scot- 
before  golf  took  an 
them.     And  then  we 


Miss  Edith  B.   Burt. 


land,  however,  the 
hard  pressed,  with 
stroke  or  two  be- 
rival,  while  the  field 
returning  a  number 
cards.  This  alone 
is  unformed  and  ir- 
Great  Britain  it  is 
The  English  women 
the  advantage  of  sev- 
of  practice  and  the 
countless  good  play- 
Not  only  did  their 
precede  ours  by  two 
had  been  playing, 
land,  tor  some  time 
organized  form  with 
must   admit    that,   as 


a  race,  they  are  stronger  and  more  athletic  than  we  are,  and  more  accus- 
tomed from  childhood  to  outdoor  sports  of  all  kinds.  They  have  a  greater 
natural  love  for  such  things  and  probably  will  always  excel  us  in  them  ;  so  that 
while  in  time  we  may  be  able  to  furnish  a  ie.\v  players  who  will  rank  with 
England's  best,  still  I  doubt  if  the  day  will  ever  come  when  we  shall  feel  able 
to  challenge  "all  England"  with  an  "all  American"  team. 

When  we  come  to  golf  in  the  United  States  we  find  it  almost  as  difficult 
to  say  where  the  game  was  first  played  here  by  women  as  it  is  to  trace  it  to  its 
beginning  in  Scotland  ;  for  so  suddenly  and  completely  did  it  take  possession  of 
the  country  that  its  appearance  must  have  been  almost  simultaneous  in  many 
places.  St.  Andrews,  organized  in  1887,  was,  of  course,  the  first  golf  club,  but 
it  was  exclusively  for  men,  and  preceded  the  general  spread  of  the  game  by  five 
or  six  years. 

The  first  clubs  to  be  organized  where  women's  playing  was  encouraged 
were  the  Shinnecock  Hills  Golf  Club,    1891;    the  Chicago   Golf  Club,    1892; 


Golf —  the    Women 


9 


the  Newport  Golf  Club,  the  Morristown  Field  Club,  the  Meadowbrook  Hunt 
Club,  and  the  Essex  County  Club,  where  golf  was  introduced  in  1893.  """^^ 
Albany  Country  Club,  the  Morris  County  Golf  Club,  and  the  Devon  Golf  Club, 
near  Philadelphia,  laid  out  their  courses  in  1894;  while  the  year  following  so 
many  new  clubs  were  formed  that  they  cannot  be  catalogued  here.  Those 
mentioned  by  name  were  from  the  beginning,  and  have  been  since,  with  a  few 
important  changes,  the  largest  and   most  active  headquarters  of   women's  golf; 


not  only  did  the^ 
called,  begin  on  their 
since  maintained 
out  the  best  Ameri- 
I  n  attempting 
the  women's  game 
water,  a  brief  glance 
ships  which  have 
tell  the  story  in  the 
for  these  tournaments 
tended  and  have  ex- 
interest  that  they  may 
resentative  of  the  best 
and  although  their  re- 
sive  than  the  cham- 
other  sports,  still  they 
we  have  at  present 
relative    standing    of 


r 

ssss^?? 

1^ 

wp% 

i^^ 

Kjk^'''  '\ 

Bfe-  '^  1 

^■^^^^ 

^^B      J" 

M 

r- 

^H7^^^K 

r. 

''■'  J  bJ^^^^^m 

^^^.VT-'pflH 

k. 

-Jij^^w 

Mrs.   J. 

Franklin 

McFadden, 

game,  properly  so 
links,  but  they  have 
their  lead  by  sending 
can  players, 
to  give  a  history  of 
on  this  side  of  the 
at  the  six  champion- 
been  held  here  will 
best  possible  way; 
have  been  so  well  at- 
cited  such  widespread 
be  taken  as  fairly  rep- 
ability  of  every  year; 
suits  are  less  conclu- 
pionships  of  most 
are  the  only  means 
of  ascertaining  the 
the  different  players. 


The  first  championship  was  held  at  the  Meadowbrook  Hunt  Club  in 
November,  1895,  under  the  auspices  of  the  United  States  Golt  Association, 
which  takes  charge  of  the  women's,  as  well  as  the  amateur  and  the  open 
championships.  The  trophy  was  a  cup  presented  by  Messrs.  R.  D.  Winthrop 
and  W.  H.  Sands,  and  the  tournament  differed  from  those  that  followed  it  in 
that  it  consisted  only  of  a  simple  medal-play  round  of  eighteen  holes  instead  of 
the  combination  of  medal  and  match  play  now  used.  The  game  was  still  in  its 
infancy  and  only  thirteen  entries  were  made,  most  of  which  were  from  Morris 
County,  Essex  County,  and  Shinnecock.  The  winner  was  Mrs.  Charles  B. 
Brown,  of  Shinnecock,  with  a  card  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-two,  while  Miss 
Sargent,  of  Essex  County,  was  second  with  one  hundred  and  thirty-tour.  The 
remaioing  nine  scores  handed  in  went  as  high  as  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
three,  and,  as  the  cards  show,  the  golf  throughout  was  scarcely  better  than  that 
of  beginners.  Still  it  is  interesting  on  reading  the  names  of  the  women  who 
took  part  to  notice  that  most  of  them  have  since  become  players  ot  noted  skill ; 


10 


Golj —  the    Women 


especially  Miss  Sargent,  Mrs.  William  Shippen,  Miss  Sands,  Mrs.  Turnure,  Miss 
Shelton,  Mrs.  Fellowes  Morgan  and  Mrs.  Robert  C.  Hooper. 

The  second  championship,  held 
at  the  Morris  County  Golf  Club  in 
1896,  showed  the  most  marked  im- 
provement in  play  which  has  been 
made  in  any  single  year.  The  golf 
had  changed  from  that  of  beginners 
to  something  very  nearly  equal  to 
what  we  have  at  present ;  for  it  was 
this  year  that  the  women  may  be  said 
to  have  learned  the  game.  This  tour- 
nament was  conducted  on  practically 
the  same  plan  as  is  now  used  ;  that 
is,  a  preliminary  round  of  medal  play 
gave  to  the  makers  of  the  eight  best 
scores  the  right  to  continue  at  match 
play  to  decide  the  contest.  The  num- 
ber of  those  to  qualify  for  match  play 
has  since  been  raised  to  sixteen,  but 
in  other  respects  the  competition  has 
not  been  changed.  The  Robert  Coxe 
trophy,  a  perpetual  challenge  cup 
held  by  the  champion's  club,  was 
competed  for  in  1896,  for  the  first 
time.  This  meeting  was  especially 
memorable  as  the  scene  of  Miss  Bea- 
trix Hoyt's  first  appearance  in  the 
golfing  world.  Although  only  six- 
teen years  of  age,  and  new  at  the 
game,  she  at  once  demonstrated  that 
great  superiority  which  she  showed 
for  three  successive  years.  She  won 
the  championship  with  ease,  defeat- 
ing Mrs.  Turnure,  also  of  Shinnecock  (who  gave  her  her  closest  match),  in 
the  finals,  after  having  led  the  field  on  the  medal-play  day  by  seven  strokes. 
Of  her  game  I  will  speak  later,  and  will  only  say  here  that  from  her  first  appear- 
ance on  the  scene,  she  set  a  pace  in  women's  golf  which  has  probably  done 
more  than  anything  else  to  show  the  would-be  golfers  of  the  country  what  their 
standard  should  be,  and  to  help  them  to  come  up  to  it. 


Miss  Katharine  M.  Rowland. 


Golf — the    Women 


II 


The   eight   best  scores   in   the  qualifying  round  ranged  from   ninety-five  to 
one    hundred   and  eleven,  which,  although   the  course   used   was   much   shorter 
than    the     present     Morris     County 
course,  is  still   some   measure  of  the 
gain  made  since  the  previous  year. 

Miss  Grisom,  next  to  Miss  Hoyt, 
was  the  most  conspicuous  of  the  new 
entries.  She  was  at  the  time  the 
best  of  the  Philadelphia  players,  and 
is  now  the  National  champion.  Miss 
Cora  Oliver,  of  Albany,  was  another 
new  comer,  whose  game  was  greatly 
admired,  while  Miss  McLane,  of 
Baltimore,  also  made  her  first  ap- 
pearance, and  has  since  played  well 
and  steadily. 

Of  those  who  had  taken  part 
the  previous  year.  Miss  Sands,  Mrs. 
Turnure,  and  Mrs.  Shippen  showed 
great  improvement.  It  has  been  a 
matter  of  much  regret  among  the 
golfers  that  neither  Mrs.  Turnure 
nor  Miss  Cora  Oliver  has  entered 
for  a  championship  since  1896. 

The  tournament  of  1897  was 
held  at  the  Essex  County  Club  of 
Manchester,  Mass.,  and  proved  as 
easy  a  victory  for  Miss  Hoyt  as  that 
of  the  year  before.  It  was  interest- 
ing to  the  metropolitan  players,  as  it 
brought  them  against  the  New  Eng- 
land women,  who  had  been  notice- 
ably absent  the  autumn  before,  and 
who    now    proved    themselves,    as   a 

class,  quite  the  equals  of  the  New  Yorkers;  for  Essex  County  furnished  one  half 
of  the  eight  who  qualified  for  match  play,  including  the  runner-up,  Miss  Sargent. 

The  medal  play  round  took  place  in  a  cold  wind  and  drenching  rain,  so 
heavy  that  in  fifteen  minutes  it  soaked  through  the  thickest  garments  ;  never- 
theless all  but  five  of  the  twenty-eight  starters  handed  in  cards,  Miss  Hoyt's 
score    of  one    hundred    and    eight    being    good    even    in    fair    weather.      Miss 


Miss  Eunice  Terry. 


12 


Golf   "  the    Women 


Sar2;ent,    the   best    of  the   "Boston    women,  was   second  with   one  hundred  and 
fourteen. 

Of  the  new  players,  the  most  important  was  Miss  Lucy  Herron,  of  Cincin- 
nati. Although  on  account  of  her  uncertain  medal  play  she  has  never  come 
near  the  championship,  still  she  is  a  golfer  whose  ability  is  known  and  recog- 
nized as  of  the  front  rank.      Other  new  players  of  interest  were  Miss  Margaret 

Curtis,  a  girl  of  thirteen,  who  has  since 
risen  to  be  among  the  foremost  ;  and 
Miss  Longworth,  ot  Cincinnati,  who 
won  third  prize. 

Ot  the  better-known  players,  Miss 
Sargent,  Mrs.  Hooper,  and  Miss  Gris- 
com,  as  well  as  Miss  Hoyt,  showed 
great  improvement;  Miss  Sargent  and 
Miss  Griscom  winning  the  second  and 
fourth  medals  respectively. 

Altogether  the  play  was  better  than 
that  of  the  previous  year,  although  there 
was  no  such  marked  gain  as  had  been 
shown  at  Morristown.  If  the  play  of 
the  held  had  improved,  that  of  the 
champion  had  gained  quite  as  much, 
for  Miss  Hoyt  demonstrated  her  supe- 
riority as  clearly  as  before. 

The  championship  of  1898  was 
held  on  the  course  of  the  Ardsley  Club 
at  Ardsley -on- Hudson,  and  naturally 
brought  out  a  large  entry  from  the 
Metropolitan  district.  Philadelphia  was 
also  well  represented,  while  Boston  and 
the  West  sent  onlv  two  or  three  competitors  each.  Nevertheless,  the  entries 
were  also  twice  as  many  as  the  previous  year  (sixty-one),  and  for  this  reason  the 
number  ot  those  to  qualitv  tor  match  play  was  increased  to  sixteen.  In  the 
medal  play  Miss  Hoyt  led  the  tield  by  her  usual  wide  margin,  handing  in  a  card 
ot  ninety-two,  a  new  record  tor  the  course  which  has  not  since  been  broken. 

This  year  an  unusually  large  number  of  good  players  made  their  tirst 
appearance  ;  chief  v^i  these  was  Miss  Maude  K.  Wetmore,  of  Newport,  the 
runner-up,  whose  game  was  so  little  known  awav  trom  her  home  club  that  her 
brilliant  pertiMiiiance  throughout  the  tournament  and  sur\i\'al  to  the  finals  was 
a  surprise   to   most  i>t   those  who  saw  it.      The  match  on  the  last  day,  between 


Mrs.   ir.  B.  Mclhaine. 


i^iolj — -the    Women 


13 


%,* 


her  and  Miss  Hoyt,  was  the  best  exhibition  of  golf  which  the  finalists  in  the 
championship  have  yet  given  us.  Another  new  player  of  prominence  was  Miss 
Carol  D.  Eidlitz,  of  Ardsley,  who  won  third  prize.  She  had  distinguished  her- 
self a  few  months  previously  at  the  women's  open  tournament  at  Shinnecock. 
Other  new  entries  deserving  notice  were  Miss  Grace  B.  Keyes,  of  Concord,  who 
gave  the  champion  her  closest  match  of  the  tournament;  Miss  H.  S.  Curtis,  of 
Essex  County,  Mrs.  Manice,  of  Pitts- 
field,  Miss  Shearson,  of  Chicago,  and 
Miss  Burt,  of  Philadelphia,  all  of  whom 
secured  places  in  the  first  sixteen  ;  while 
of  the  unsuccessful  division  Miss  E.  F. 
Cassatt  and  Mrs.  Fox,  of  Philadelphia, 
and  Mrs.  Cochrane,  of  Ardsley,  have 
since  taken  a  high  rank. 

Miss  Hoyt,  for  the  third  time 
champion,  played  a  game  all  through 
this  tournament  which  showed  her  title 
to  be  well  deserved  ;  she  had  improved 
since  the  previous  year,  especially  in 
her  long  game,  which  had  gained  in 
distance ;  and  the  steadiness  of  her 
rounds,  which,  if  finished  out,  would 
probably  have  been  between  ninety  and 
ninety-five  all  through  the  week,  was 
remarkable.  Miss  Griscom,  with  her 
usual  skill,  easily  won  her  first  two 
matches  and  for  the  second  time  took 
fourth  prize,  succumbing  in  the  second 
semi-finals  to  Miss  VVetmore.  Mrs. 
Fellowes    Morgan    and    Mrs.    Shippen 

also  won  good  places.  The  play  of  the  field  had  become  somewhat  more  even, 
and  the  number  of  good  golfers  had  greatly  increased  ;  but  they  had  approached 
no  nearer  to  the  champion  than  they  had  been  before. 

The  tournament  of  1899  was  played  on  the  links  of  the  Philadelphia 
Country  Club  at  Bala.  There  were  seventy-eight  entries,  of  which  twenty- 
nine  were  from  Philadelphia.  New  York  and  New  England  also  sent  many 
representatives,  while  the  West,  as  usual,  entered  but  three  or  four. 

Miss  Hoyt  again  won  the  prize  for  the  best  score  on  the  first  day,  with  a 
card  of  ninety-seven,  but  this  time  there  were  only  three  strokes  between  her 
and  the  second.  Miss  Griscom. 


%^y 


Mrs.   H.   C.   Chatfield-Taylor. 


H 


Golf —  the    Women 


The  feature  of  this  meeting  was  the  performance  of  Mrs.  Caleb  F.  Fox, 
of  the  Huntingdon  Valley  Country  Club,  who  made  the  sensation  of  the  first 
day  by  defeating  the  three  years'  champion.  Miss  Hoyt  showed  a  nervousness 
which   was   new  to   her,  and   her   defeat   was  a  surprise  to   every  golfer   in   the 

country,  although  due  credit  was  given 
to  the  good  and  courageous  play  which 
had  enabled  Mrs.  Fox  to  do  what  for 
three  years  had  proved  impossible.  On 
the  second  day  Mrs.  Fox  defeated  Miss 
Sands  at  the  twentieth  hole  after  a  des- 
perately contested  match  ;  and  in  the 
semi-finals  she  put  out  Miss  Marion 
Oliver,  of  Albany,  after  cutting  down  an 
overwhelming  lead.  Altogether  her  path 
to  the  finals  was  the  most  brilliant  and 
difficult  which  any  player  has  yet  travelled 
in  the  history  of  tournaments  in  this  coun- 
try ;  and  the  performance  served  to  make 
the  championship  of  1899  one  of  the 
most  interesting  yet  seen. 

The  number  of  players  of  promise 
who  entered  here  for  the  first  time  was 
larger  than  ever  before.  Prominent 
among  them  stands  out  Miss  Marion  Oli- 
ver, of  Albany,  whose  good  showing  was 
due  entirely  to  the  excellence  of  her  golf, 
for,  being  a  \\&\m  player,  she  naturally 
lacked  that  confidence  which  comes  with 
a  few  years  of  experience  in  tournaments. 
Another  new  entry  of  first-rate  impor- 
tance was  that  of  Miss  Eunice  Terry,  of 
Ardsley.  Although  she  failed  to  qualify 
in  the  first  sixteen,  she  showed,  after  the 
first  day,  that  she  ranked  high  in  the 
championship  class,  and  her  subsequent  performances  have  more  than  borne  this 
out.  Other  new  golfers  of  ability  were  Miss  Genevieve  Hecker,  of  Wee  Burn, 
Miss  Pauline  Mackay,  of  Oakley,  Miss  K.  M.  Rowland,  of  Fairfield,  Miss  May 
Barron,  of  Ardsley,  and  Mrs.  Pendleton  Rogers,  of  the  Hillside  Golf  Club. 

Among  the  older  players.  Miss  Sands,  who  had  been  absent  for  two  years, 
Miss   E.  F.  Cassatt,  and   Mrs.  Cochrane,  who   had   failed   to  qualify  at   Ardsley 


mms^ 


Miss  Sargent. 


Miss  Ruth   Underbill, 
Winner  of  the    Cha?npionship,   /, 


7\/fISS  RUTH  UNDERHILL,thc  iinnner  of  the 
■^  ^J-  Golf  Championship  of  the  United  States  for 
iSgg,  succeeded  to  the  title  after  a  series  of  matches  ifi 
which  she  displayed  a  iconderful  amount  of  nerve — it  al- 
most invariably  comes  to  her  aid  in  time  of  need.  To  be 
able  to  steady  one's  play  by  calling  on  reserve  force  is,  as 
every  player  knows,  the  hardest  thing  to  do  in  any  sport. 
Since  her  triumph  at  Philadelphia  she  certainly  describes 
great  praise,  for  instead  of  resti?/g  on  her  laurels,  as 
she  might  easily  have  done,  she  has  been  sportsmanlike 
enough  to  go  into  frequent  competitions,  whether  she  was 
on  or  off  her  game.  Besides  winning  the  toiuma/nent 
at  the  Golf  Club  of  Lakewood  in  the  spring  of  l8gg. 
Miss  Underbill  has  always  been  prominent  in  the  open 
events  at  Baltusrol  and  Ardsley.  Her  game  on  the 
tees  and  through  the  green  is  characterized  by  a  very 
full  switig.  The  back-handed  stroke  which  she  uses  in 
putting  is  unusual,  but  she  is  very  good  in  this  depart- 
ment of  the  game,  and  in  short  approach  shots. 

"Nothing  succeeds  like  success,"  and  Miss  Under- 
hiir s  game,  which,  like  Harry  Vardon's,  jnay  be  classed 
as  distinctly  individual,  has,  like  that  of  the  professional, 
won  its  way  into  the  front  rank. 


Golf —  the    Women 


17 


the   previous  year,  and  Miss  Griscom,  all  showed  first-class  form.      Miss   Cassatt 
won  third  prize,  and  the  match  between  her  and  Miss  Griscom  on  the  first  day 
deserves  special  mention,  for  it  was  easily  the  best  golf  of  the  tournament.     Miss 
Cassatt,   who   won   by   three   up   and   two  to   play,  would  almost   certainly   have 
broken  the  course  record  of  ninety-three 
if  she  had  finished  her  round,  while  Miss 
Griscom   was   only   two   or    three  strokes 
behind  her.      The  match  was  probably  as 
good   an  exhibition  of  golf  as   American 
women  have  yet  given. 

The  important  changes  shown  this 
fall  were  a  falling  off  in  the  game  of  the 
three-years  champion,  and  a  marked  im- 
provement in  the  play  of  the  first  ten  or 
twenty  women.  The  long  game  in  par- 
ticular had  gained  greatly  since  the  pre- 
vious year,  not  only  in  the  case  of  a  tew 
especially  long  drivers,  but  in  the  standard 
of  excellence  of  the  players  in  general. 

The  championship  of  1900  took 
place  in  August,  on  the  links  of  the  Shin- 
necock  Hills  Golf  Club,  at  Southampton, 
L.  I.,  and,  probably  owing  to  the  inac- 
cessibility of  the  ground  as  well  as  to  the 
unusually  early  date,  the  number  of  en- 
tries was  less  than  it  had  been  the  year 
before.  The  majority  of  the  players 
hailed  from  the  Metropolitan  district, 
Philadelphia  and  Boston  also  being  well 
represented,  while  Chicago  sent  but  a 
single  competitor.  Miss  Hoyt  for  the 
fifth  time  captured  the  prize  for  the  best 
gross  score,  her  card  of  ninety-four  lead- 
ing Miss  Griscom's  by  two  strokes. 

In  winning  the  championship  Miss  Griscom  did  the  best  work  she  has  yet 
done,  for  she  played  excellent  and  steady  golf  throughout  the  week  and  fully 
deserved  her  high  honor.  She  defeated  first  Mrs.  Manice,  a  player  of  known 
abilit)^,  then  Mrs.  Pendleton  Rogers,  of  Plainfield,  N.  J.  Although  Miss  Gris- 
com won  this  match  easily,  she  played  her  best  golf  of  the  week  in  doing  so, 
her   medal   score  being   an   approximated   ninety-two.       In    the   semi-finals    she 


Miss  Maude  K.   tFetmore. 


i8 


Golf —  the    Women 


defeated   Miss  Terry  at   the  nineteenth   hole,  who  thus  took  third  prize,  and  in- 
the  finals  she  won   easily   from   Miss   Margaret  Curtis,  who,  like  Mrs.  Fox   the 
previous  year,  was   unable  to  maintain  at  the  end  the  form  which   had  brought 
her  so  far.      Her  achievement,  however,  was   next   in   importance  to  Miss  Gris- 

com's  victory,  and  her  defeat  of 
Miss  Hoyt  in  the  semi-finals,  with 
a  medal  score  nine  strokes  worse 
than  her  opponent's,  shows  her 
great  ability  as  a  match  player. 
She  took  second  prize  and  Miss 
Hoyt  fourth. 

This  tournament  brought  out 
fewer  w^-w  entries  oi  importance 
than  any  previous  one;  among  the 
first  sixteen  there  were  but  two, 
Mrs.  Toulmin  and  Miss  Livingston, 
who  had  not  already  competed  at 
least  once  for  the  championship, 
and  these,  although  promising  golf- 
ers, were  both  put  out  in  the  first 
round.  Miss  Margaret  Curtis,  who 
may  be  called  the  "  surprise  "  of 
the  tournament,  made  her  first  ap- 
pearance at  Manchester  three  years 
before,  where  she  gave  every  prom- 
ise of  what  she  has  since  become  ; 
while  Mrs.  Rogers,  who  also 
showed  improvement,  had  played 
at  Philadelphia  in  1899. 

Miss  Hoyt's  play  was  uneven, 
and  not  up  to  her  best,  but  her  defeats  should  make  her  a  better  match  player 
than  her  victories  did.  Her  success  over  Mrs.  Fox  was  noticeable  as  being 
the  first  uphill  match  she  had  ever  won.  Her  record  of  eighty-nine  for  the 
course  was  approached  by  no  one  during  the  tournament.  Mrs.  Manice 
and  Miss  Hecker,  the  Metropolitan  champion,  contrary  to  expectation,  were 
both  put  out  in  the  first  round.  Miss  Hecker  especially  was  looked  to  to 
attain  a  high  place,  for  in  the  Metropolitan  championship  in  the  spring  she 
had  exhibited  the  most  brilliant  and  perfect  game  ever  played  by  a  woman  in 
America. 

The  golf  shown  at  this  tournament  was  of  a  higher  class  than  any  we  have 


Mrs.   William  Shippen. 


Golf —  the    Women 


19 


yet  seen,  both  in  point  of  steadiness  and  brilliancy  ;  although  the  fact  that  there 
were  but  three  or  four  new  entries  of  much  promise  cannot  fail  to  be  noted  as 
significant  and  raises  the  question  whether  golf  is  going  the  way  of  so  many 
games  in  this  country — losing  tavor  among  the  many  as  it  is  carried  to  greater 
perfection  by  the  few. 

The  most  striking  gain  made 
by  the  women  during  the  past  year 
is  in  the  length  of  the  drive  and 
brassey  stroke.  If  in  1899  great 
improvement  was  shown  in  this 
respect,  during  the  past  year  it  has 
been  repeated  and  emphasized  to  a 
surprising  extent.  It  is  no  longer 
possible  for  a  woman  whose  drive 
averages  less  than  one  hundred  and 
forty  yards  to  compete  in  the 
championship  class  ;  while  the 
longer  players,  such  as  Mrs.  Fox, 
Mrs.  Manice,  Miss  Hecker,  Miss 
Hoyt,  Miss  Herron,  Miss  Margaret 
Curtis,  Miss  Griscom,  Miss  Cas- 
satt,  and  Miss  Oliver,  drive  a  ball 
whose  average  length  is  from  one 
hundred  and  fifty  to  one  hundred 
and  seventy  yards.  The  winning 
drive  in  the  competition  this  year 
was  one  hundred  and  eighty-nine 
yards  five  inches  in  length,  while 
there  were  no  fewer  than  five  other 
drives  one  hundred  and  eighty  yards 

and  over.  If  we  look  at  similar  competitions  held  at  earlier  championship  tourna- 
ments we  find  that  in  i  897  the  best  drive  was  about  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
yards  ;  in  1898  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  yards;  and  in  1899  one  hundred  and 
sixty-four  yards.  Although  local  conditions,  of  course,  count  for  a  great  deal, 
still  such  a  gain  as  twenty-five  yards  over  the  previous  year,  and  fifty-five  over  the 
year  before  that,  proves  conclusively  that  the  women  have  developed  a  different 
class  of  long  game  from  that  of  two  or  three  years  ago.  Their  improvement  in 
other  respects  has  almost,  if  not  quite,  kept  pace  with  the  length  of  their  drives, 
and  the  tournament  of  1900  showed  us  some  golf  by  Miss  Hoyt,  Miss  Griscom, 
Miss  Curtis,  and  Mrs.  Fox  which  far  surpassed  in  power  anything  known  before. 


Miss  Elsie  F.   Cassatt. 


20 


Golf —  the    Women 


except   perhaps  Miss   Hecker's   performance  in  the  MetropoHtan  Championship 
in  the  Spring  of  the  same  year  at  the  Morris  County  Golf  Club. 

This  gives   the   record   of  the  championships   up   to   the  present   time  and 

shows  some  of  the  principal  changes  in  the 
game.  In  order  to  give  some  idea  of  the 
present  condition  of  women's  golf,  it  may  be 
interesting  to  say  a  i&vj  words  of  the  differ- 
ent clubs  and  individual  players  of  special  note. 
Without  doubt  Philadelphia  has  from 
the  first  been  the  most  active  and  enthusiastic 
centre  of  the  women's  game.  Although  none 
ot  their  clubs  ranks  among  the  oldest,  still  the 
number  of  good  courses  within  easy  distance 
of  each  other  and  the  keen  interest  of  the 
players  combined  early  to  put  their  golf  on 
a  firm  foundation.  In  1897,  '^he  Women's 
Golf  Association  of  Philadelphia  was  formed, 
and  for  three  years  remained  the  only  or- 
ganization of  its  kind  in  the  country.  It  is 
composed  of  the  five  principal  suburban  clubs, 
the  Philadelphia  Country  Club,  the  Philadel- 
phia Cricket  Club,  the  Merion  Cricket  Club, 
the  Huntingdon  Valley  Golf  Club,  and  the 
Aronomink  Golf  Club.  Under  its  auspices 
the  championship  of  Philadelphia  is  played 
for  annually,  and  was  won  in  1897  by  Miss 
Davids,  of  the  Philadelphia  Country  Club, 
and  in  1898  and  1899  by  Miss  E.  F.  Cassatt,  of  the  Merion  Cricket  Club.  The 
team  championship  is  also  competed  for  among  the  allied  clubs;  each  club  plays 
every  other  club  once  in  the  spring  and  once  in  the  autumn,  last  year's  matches 
resulting  in  a  victory  for  Merion.  These  local  competitions  naturally  excite 
much  interest  among  the  players,  and  their  organization  greatly  simplifies  all 
their  arrangements  for  tournaments  and  matches.  Similar  Women's  Golf  As- 
sociations have  since  been  formed,  both  in  New  York  and  Boston,  but  to 
Philadelphia  belongs  the  credit  of  showing  the  way. 

In  addition  to  their  competitions  under  the  Association,  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  Philadelphia  women  has  been  the  means  of  arranging  several  interesting 
matches  away  from  home.  Important  among  these  was  the  Philadelphia- 
Canadian  team-match,  which  occurred  at  Toronto  in  the  autumn  of  1898. 
There  were  seven   on   a  side,  and  the  Philadelphians  won   by  forty-eight  holes. 


fel  c^^^^l 

|r^ 

^I^i^ 

Miss  May  Barron. 


Golf — the    Women 


21 


The   Canadian   captain,  Miss   Ethel   White,  was  the  only   one  of  her  country- 
women  to   win,  which   she   did   by   defeating   Miss   Griscom   by  five  holes.      It 
was  a  surprise  to  the  American  golfers  to  find  the  Canadians  so  distinctly  below 
our  standard  ;   for   Miss  White  was  the   only 
player  among  them  who  could  have  held  her 
own  in  the  United  States. 

Another  interesting  series  of  matches 
were  the  three  between  All-Philadelphia  and 
the  Morris  County  Golf  Club.  Each  side 
won  on  their  own  grounds,  and  the  third 
match,  played  last  autumn  on  the  neutral 
course  at  Ardsley,  went  to  the  Philadelphians. 

The  strongest  of  their  individual  clubs 
are  the  Merion  Cricket  Club  and  the  Phila- 
delphia Country  Club.  From  Merion  comes 
Miss  Frances  C.  Griscom,  the  present  cham- 
pion. Her  game  is  as  well  known  as  that  of 
any  woman  in  the  country,  and  her  tourna- 
ment record  is  second  only  to  Miss  Hoyt's. 
She  has  played  for  every  championship  except 
the  first,  has  twice  taken  fourth  prize,  and  has 
never  failed  to  qualify  for  the  match-play  ;  so 
that  her  recent  victory  is  only  the  just  reward 
of  her  unfailingly  excellent  play.  She  has 
had  the  advantage  of  many  years  of  practice, 
for  she  took  up  the  game  when  it  first  came 
to  America.      She  is  good  both  at  match  and 

at  medal  play,  and  has  that  frequent  characteristic  of  a  seasoned  golfer,  that  her 
best  work  is  done  only  under  the  stimulus  of  competition.  Miss  Griscom,  to- 
gether with  Miss  Hoyt,  Miss  Sands,  and  one  or  two  others,  is  among  the  few 
older  players  who  have  kept  pace  with  the  development  of  the  game.  Her  put- 
ting and  approaching,  always  her  strong  point,  have  gained  in  accuracy  and 
beauty  of  execution,  and  her  long  game  in  distance  as  her  newer  rivals  have 
raised  the  standard  from  year  to  year. 

From  Merion  comes  also  Miss  Elsie  F.  Cassatt,  who,  with  Miss  Griscom 
and  Mrs.  Fox,  of  the  Huntingdon  Valley  Golf  Club,  form  the  front  rank  of  the 
Philadelphians.  Although  a  much  newer  player  than  Miss  Griscom,  and  not 
quite"  so  steady,  still  for  two  years  Miss  Cassatt  has  ranked  even  with  her  at 
home,  while  at  times  she  exhibits  a  game  of  extraordinary  brilliancy.  She  has 
held   the   Philadelphia   championship   since    1898,   and   last    autumn    took   third 


Mrs.  A.  De  Witte  Cochrane. 


p  :> 


Golf —  the    Women 


prize  in  the  National  Championship.  Her  long  game  is  magnificent  both  on 
account  of  its  distance  and  the  ease  and  strength  of  her  style;  and  her  short 
game,  when  she  is  at  her  best,  is  wonderfully  sure.  Mrs.  Toulmin,  a  new 
player  of  much  promise,  is  also  a  member  of  the  Merion  Cricket  Club. 

At  the  Philadelphia   Country  Club 
f  the    strongest    player    is    probably    Miss 

[  Nina   Davids,  who   held   the  champion- 

ship of  Philadelphia  in  1897,  ^"'l  i^  o'^^ 
of  the  tew  women  in  the  country  who 
excel  at  medal-play.  Although  she  has 
never  entered  for  the  National  Cham- 
pionship, and  has  played  very  little  away 
from  home,  her  ability  is  well  known 
among  the  Philadelphians.  Other  good 
golfers  of  this  club  are  Mrs.  MacFadden, 
who  holds  the  course  record  of  ninety- 
three;  Mrs.  Gorham,  Miss  Burt,  and 
Miss  Riley. 

The  Huntingdon  Valley  Golf  Club 
is  the  home  course  of  Mrs.  Caleb  F. 
Fox,  the  runner-up  in  the  championship 
ot  1899.  She  was  also  runner-up  for 
the  championship  of  Philadelphia  for 
the  year  betore,  when  she  was  defeated 
by  Miss  Cassatt  in  a  close  match.  Her 
record  in  1899  has  already  been- given, 
and  shows  sufficiently  the  quality  of  her 
game,  which  for  pure  nerve  and  perse- 
verance has  few  equals.  In  her  recent 
close  match  with  Miss  Hoyt  at  Shinne- 
cock,  although  it  resulted  in  her  defeat,  she  showed  a  decided  gain,  over  her 
game  of  the  year  before,  her  driving  and  brassy  work  being  among  the  finest 
of  the  five  or  six  examples  of  remarkable  long  games  which  the  last  champion- 
ship brought  out.  Her  putting  and  approaching,  unusually  accurate  at  all 
times,  seem  able  to  meet  any  emergency. 

The  other  clubs  in  this  neighborhood  can  boast  of  many  players,  who, 
although  they  have  not  attained  distinction  in  the  National  Championships,  are 
still  known  at  home  as  good  and  steady  golfers.  Among  these  are  Miss  Sup- 
plee  and  the  Misses  Maule,  of  the  Philadelphia  Cricket  Club,  and  Mrs.  Smith 
and  Miss  Taylor,  of  the  Aronomink  Golf  Club. 


Mrs.  IF.   J.  Berg. 


Miss  Beatrix  Hoyt. 
Winner  of  the  Amateur    Championship,   i8g6,   'q7,   '§, 


Golf —  the    Women 


25 


Coming  to  the  links  near  New  York  we  find  a  greater  number  of  good 
players  than  at  Philadelphia,  but  until  this  season  without  Philadelphia's  organi- 
zation and  local  spirit.  Last  winter,  however,  the  Women's  Metropolitan  Golf 
Association  was  organized,  and  has  already  outstripped  those  of  both  Boston  and 
Philadelphia  in  point  of  size  and  ac- 
tivity. It  is  formed  on  the  lines  of 
the  Men's  Metropolitan  Golf  Associa- 
tion, and  embraces  twenty-two  of  the 
more  important  clubs  suburban  to  New 
York.  It  holds  an  annual  champion- 
ship and  arranges  for  whatever  team- 
matches  the  association  may  elect  to 
hold.  This  season  twelve  clubs  have 
entered  teams  of  six  tor  the  champion- 
ship, and,  as  each  club  must  play  every 
other  club  once,  the  schedule  calls  for 
sixty-six  matches,  and  is  the  most  am- 
bitious organized  series  of  team-matches 
yet  undertaken  in  this  country.  Wheth- 
er it  will  prove  a  success  or  not  remains 
to  be  seen,  but  even  if  in  its  present 
forin  it  should  be  found  too  burden- 
some, the  enthusiasm  of  the  women 
golfers  will  doubtless  call  for  some  other 
arrangement  of  team -matches  which 
will  bring  them  into  competition  with 
their  neighbors. 

The  most  conspicuous  of  the  in- 
dividual clubs,  so  tar  as  the  women  are 
concerned,  is  that  of  Morris  County. 
Here  are  to  be  found  not  only  more 
regular  events,  but  also  more  enthusi- 
asm and  a  greater  number  of  good  golfers  than  are  at  any  other  single  club  in  the 
country.  Miss  Wetmore,  Mrs.  Shippen,  Miss  Willis,  Miss  Bryce,  Miss  Swords, 
Miss  Day,  Miss  Kip,  Miss  Shelton  and  Miss  Hurlbut,  making  a  team  of  nine 
which  any  other  club  would  be  rash  to  challenge  ;  as  was  proved  by  the  close 
matches  which  Morris  County  was  able  to  give  the  All-Philadelphia  team.  The 
club  holds  two  weekly  competitions  on  the  point  system  for  the  long  and  short 
course  cups,  besides  many  special  matches  for  buttons  and  other  prizes.  The 
championship  is  decided  semi-annually,  and  the  present  champion  is  Miss  Kip. 


Miss  Grace  largo. 


Mrs.  W.  Fellowes  Morgan. 


Among  the  players  at  Morris  County  the  most  prominent  are  Miss  Maude 
K.  Wetmore,  and  Mrs.  Wilham  Shippen.  Miss  Wetmore  was  the  runner-up 
in  the  championship  of  1898,  and  her  excellent  play  on  that  occasion  has 
already  been  spoken  of.  Her  game  is  at  all  times  wonderfully  accurate  and 
well  judged  and  her  approaching  and  putting  deadly.  Although  she  entered  at 
Ardsley  from  Newport,  she  has  lately  played  at  Morris  County  in  the  spring 
and  autumn,  and  has  a  place  on  the  club-team.  Mrs.  Shippen  has  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  the  only  woman  in  the  country  who  has  played  jn  every 
National  Championship.  That  she  is  the  steadiest  golfer  among  her  club- 
mates  was  shown  by  her  winning  both  the  long  and  short  cups  for  1899; 
and  she  has  several  times  held  the  Morris  County  Championship.  Her 
style  is  easy  and  graceful,  with  a  particularly  good  follow-through,  giving  a 
long  roll. 

Miss  Cornelia  Willis  won  the  club  championship  of  1899,  and  although 
rather  a  new  player  she  shows  no  little  skill.  She  is  a  clever  putter  and  uses 
her  irons  with  unusual  cleanness  and  surety. 

Miss  Marie  G.  Bryce  would  be  better  known  if  she  played  more  away 
from  her  home-course.  She  has  held  the  Morris  County  Championship  and 
plays  one  of  the  strongest  long  games  in  the  club  ;  with  a  little  additional 
steadiness  in  the  short  game  she  should  make  one  of  our  best  players. 

Miss  Elsa  Hurlbut  and  Miss  Elizabeth  Kip  are  two  strong  golfers,  both 
powerful  drivers  and  good  match-players,  while  Miss  Helen  Shelton,  who  for  a 


Miss  Marion   Oliver. 


long  time  held  the  course  record  of  Morris  County,  Miss  Swords,  and  Miss  Day 
are  all  good  and  consistent  players. 

The  first  Metropolitan  championship  was  held  at  Morris  County  in  June, 
1900,  and  was  won  by  Miss  Genevieve  Hecker  of  the  Wee  Burn  Goll  Club, 
who  defeated  many  of  the  best  of  the  New  York  players,  among  them  Miss 
Hoyt  and  Miss  Wetmore.  Miss  Hoyt  in  practice  lowered  the  course  record 
from  one  hundred  and  five  to  ninety-three,  and,  as  if  to  show  that  all  they 
required  was  a  pace-maker,  the  Morris  County  women  have  since  trod  close 
upon  her  heels  with  ninety-six  and  ninety-eight. 

Half  an  hour  from  Morristown  is  the  Baltusrol  Golf  Club,  at  Short  Hills, 
a  favorite  among  women  on  account  of  its  yearly  open  tournaments.  These  are 
usually  arranged  to  take  place  soon  after  the  championship,  and  draw  a  large 
entry  from  the  first  ranks.  They  are  conducted  in  regular  tournament  form — 
medal-play  followed  by  match-play — and  are  among  the  foremost  events  ot  the 
golfing  women's  year.  In  1898  the  winner  was  Mrs.  Berg  of  the  Nutley  Golf 
Club,  who  defeated  Mrs.  Shippen  in  the  finals;  and  in  1899  Miss  Eunice  Terry, 
of  Ardsley,  carried  off  the  honors  after  a  hard  fought  match  with  Mrs.  Morgan, 
of  Baltusrol. 

Miss  Terry's  victory  was  one  of  special  merit,  for  the  field  was  almost 
identical  with  that  of  the  National  championship  the  previous  week,  includ- 
ing nearly  all  the  best  players  of  the  country.  The  fact  that  Miss  Terry, 
who   was  defeated   for  the   Consolation    Cup   at   Philadelphia,  came   out   first   at 


28 


Golf —  the    Women 


Baltusrol,  goes   to  show   how   equal   are  the  fifteen  or   twenty  best  golfers,  and 
how  indecisive  may  be  the  results  of  a  single  tournament. 

The  leading  Baltusrol  player  is  Mrs.  W.  Fellowes  Morgan,  who  has  taken 
part  in  most  of  the  National  championships.      She  is  one  of  the  few  left-handed 


women,  and  before  golf 
held  the  tennis  cham- 
doubles.  Her  game  is 
its  driving  and  brassy 
while  her  unusually  im- 
her  especially  formida- 
de  Bary  and  Mrs.  H.  B. 
Baltusrol's  best.  The 
tion  by  carrying  off  the 
nament    in    the   autumn 

The  Shinnecock 
as  the  home-course  of 
point  of  age  second  only 
is  much  playing  among 
though  the  interest  in 
keen  than  it  was  a  few 
consequently  less  formal 
an  open  tournament  of 
sequence,  which  was 
it  has  not  been  repeated 

Of  Miss  Hoyt's 
essary  to  speak,  except 
superiority  is  no  longer 
against  defeat,  she  is  still, 
woman  golfer  in  Amer- 


came  into  fashion  she 
pionship  in  women's 
powerful  in  character, 
work  being  very  strong, 
perturbable  nerve  makes 
ble  in  a  inatch.  Miss 
Ashmore  are  also  among 
latter  won  great  distinc- 
Ardsley  invitation  tour- 
of  1899. 

Hills  Golf  Club,  famous 
Miss  Beatrix  Hoyt,  is  in 
to  St.  Andrew's.  There 
the  women  there,  al- 
the  game  is  perhaps  less 
years  ago,  and  there  is 
play.  In  1898  there  was 
more  than  ordinary  con- 
won  by  Miss  Hoyt,  but 
since. 

playing  it  seems  unnec- 
to  say  that,  although  her 
so  great  as  to  insure  her 
to  my  thinking,  the  best 
ica.       Her   three  recent 


defeats  by  Mrs.  Fox,  Miss  Hecker,  and  Miss  Margaret  Curtis  were  due  to  lack 
of  nerve  more  than  want  of  skill,  and  from  her  work  in  the  last  championship 
tournament  she  appears  to  have  learned  the  up-hill  game,  which,  combined  with 
her  other  qualities,  should  make  her  again  pre-eminent.  Her  rivals  are  now 
many  and  very  close  to  her;  but  the  odds  are  that  if  twenty  large  open  tourna- 
ments were  played.  Miss  Hoyt  would  win  half  of  them,  and  the  remaining 
half  be  divided  among  several  different  players. 

The  most  noticeable  characteristics  of  her  game  are  its  accuracy,  strength, 
and  steadiness;  in  other  words,  its  excellence  at  every  point.  While  most  women 
miss  or  "  tlub  "  many  strokes  in  every  round,  Miss  Hoyt  misses  very  few,  and 
even  her  mistakes  are  rarely  serious.      Her  form  is  graceful  and  vigorous,  though 


p 

X 

o 

? 

X  § 

?x 

F3 


'IS 


p3 


30 


Golf —  the    Women 


unorthodox,  and  her  long  game  is  as  long  as  any  woman's  and  wonderfully  sure. 
Of  the  other  players  at  Shinnecock    the  most  prominent  are  Mrs.    Charles  S. 

Brown,  the  first  champion, 
who  still  holds  a  good  rank 
among  golfers ;  and  Mrs.  A. 
B.  Turnure,  runner-up  to  Miss 
Hoyt  in  1896;  while  Miss 
Wickham,  Miss  Parrish,  Miss 
Clark,  and  Miss  Russell  all 
have  places  on  the  club  team. 
The  Ardsley  Club,  the 
scene  of  the  championship  ol 
1898,  has  produced  several 
golfers  of  note.  Chief  among 
these  are  Miss  Eunice  Terry 
and  Miss  Carol  D.  Eidlitz, 
who  have  both  captured  third 
medals  in  championship  tour- 
naments; Miss  Terry's  match 
against  Miss  Griscom  in  the 
semi-finals  last  summer  being 
only  lost  at  the  nineteenth 
hole.  Miss  Terry  has  also  to 
her  credit  her  victory  at  Bal- 
tusrol  in  1899,  and  the  fact 
that  she  shares  with  Miss  Hoyt 
the  excellent  record  of  ninety- 
two  for  the  Ardsley  course. 
She  is  one  of  the  first  players 
of  the  country,  and  probably 
no  other  has  so  easy  and  graceful  a  style.  Miss  Eidlitz  has  been  playing  very 
little  lately,  but  at  the  time  she  won  her  third  medal,  two  years  ago,  she  was 
a  golfer  of  first-rate  ability,  her  game  especially  being  remarkably  fine,  and  her 
swing  large  and  free. 

Mrs.  A.  de  Witte  Cochrane,  of  this  club,  made  a  good  showing  in  the 
championship  of  1899,  and  last  autumn  won  the  Ardsley  invitation  tournament, 
defeating  Mrs.  Manice  in  the  finals.  Although  not  possessed  of  great  steadi- 
ness, she  is  at  times  a  brilliant  golfer,  and  for  a  long  time  held  the  champion- 
ship of  Ardsley.  She  lost  it  last  year  to  Miss  Vanderhoef,  the  present  club 
champion,  a  girl  of  sixteen,  who  was  a  surprise  to  most  of  her  clubmates.      The 


Miss   Genevieve  Hecker. 


Golf —  the    Women 


31 


latter  won,  however,  on  her  merits,  and  gives  every  promise  of  becoming  a  golfer 
of  the  front  rank.  It  is,  of  course,  to  the  school-girls  we  must  look  for  our  future 
champions,  who  will  put  us 
on  a  par  with  the  mass  of 
players  across  the  water.  Miss 
May  Barron,  Miss  Lilian 
Brooks,  and  Mrs.  Eldridge  also 
play  on  the  Ardsley  team. 

The  Wee  Burn  Golf 
Club  is  the  home  of  Miss 
Genevieve  Hecker,  the  present 
Metropolitan  champion.  Too 
much  cannot  be  said  of  the 
power  and  brilliancy  of  her 
game,  but  like  all  nfew  players 
she  lacks  steadiness,  and  al- 
though she  is  capable  of  giv- 
ing an  exhibition  of  golf 
which  three  years  ago  very 
few  people  in  this  country 
would  have  believed  possible 
for  a  woman,  still  she  cannot 
always  be  relied  upon  to  play 
more  than  an  ordinarily  good 
game.  When  golfers  like 
Miss  Hecker  settle  down  to 
their  best,  we  shall  be  in  a 
position  to  sustain  at  any  rate 
an  honorable  defeat  at  the 
hands  of  our  British  sisters. 

Other  good  players  of  the  Metropolitan  district  are  Mrs.  Pendleton  Rogers, 
of  Plainfield,  Mrs.  William  J.  Berg,  of  Nutley,  Miss  Grace  Fargo,  of  Seabright, 
Miss  Katherine  Rowland,  of  Fairfield,  Miss  Elizabeth  Goffe,  of  the  Westchester 
Golf  Club,  Miss  Caroline  Livingston,  of  Westbrook,  and  Miss  Louise  D.  Max- 
well, of  Nassau,  who  won  the  driving  competition  at  the  last  championship,  with 
the  remarkable  distance  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-nine  yards  five  inches. 

Going  farther  from  New  York,  we  come  to  the  Albany  Country  Club,  for 
which,  in  1899,  Miss  Marion  Oliver  played  in  Philadelphia.  Although  this  was 
her  first  appearance  in  a  large  tournament,  she  took  fourth  prize,  being  put  out  in 
the  semi-finals  by  Mrs.  Fox,  and  won  the  driving  competition  with  one  hundred 


Mrs.  R.   C.   Hooper. 


^2  Golf  —  the    Women 


and  sixty-tour  yards  eight  inches.  She  is  one  of  the  most  promising  of  the 
new  players.  Her  driving  and  brassey  work  are  extremely  good,  and  she  needs 
only  a  little  more  steadiness,  particularly  in  the  short  game,  to  make  her  the 
equal  of  any  golfer  in  America.  Albany  has  also  produced  another  medallist  in 
the  person  of  Miss  Cora  Oliver,  who  in  the  championship  of  1896  was  defeated 
in  the  semi-finals  by  Mrs.  Turnure. 

In  Boston,  as  in  New  York,  a  women's  golt  association  was  organized  in 
the  spring  of  1 900.  Although  it  embraces  as  yet  but  four  clubs,  it  has  held 
a  championship  tournament  won  by  Miss  Grace  B.  Keyes,  of  Concord,  and  has 
been  most  successful  in  conducting  a  system  of  home-and-home  team  matches, 
of  which  the  winner — Oakley — was  not  the  club  winning  the  greatest  number 
of  matches,  but  the  greatest  number  of  holes. 

Of  the  Boston  Clubs,  the  Essex  County  Club,  at  Manchester,  is  the  oldest, 
and  has  led  from  the  first  with  respect  to  women's  golf.  Here  the  most  dis- 
tinguished player  is  Miss  Margaret  Curtis,  who,  although  only  thirteen  years 
of  age  at  the  time,  attracted  attention  by  her  excellent  play  in  the  championship 
tournament  of  1897,  where  she  was  defeated  in  match  play  by  Miss  Hoyt.  In 
the  tournament  of  1900  she  had  her  revenge,  for  she  put  out  Miss  Hoyt  in  the 
semi-finals,  thus  winning  the  second  runner-up  medal  which  has  gone  to  a 
member  of  her  club.  She  is  among  our  five  or  six  most  brilliant  players,  her 
long  game  having  the  ease  and  strength  of  a  man's.  She  and  Miss  Hecker  are 
perhaps  the  most  promising  among  all  our  golfers. 

The  other  runner-up  from  Manchester  is  Miss  Nellie  C.  Sargent,  who  was 
defeated  in  the  finals  by  Miss  Hoyt  in  1897,  ^"'^  ^^''^'^  '^'^'^  second  in  the  first 
medal-play  championship  two  years  before.  Miss  Sargent  began  the  game 
before  it  was  fairly  started  in  this  country  ;  she  spent  several  winters  at  Cannes, 
where  she  won  numerous  prizes.  Her  game,  although  it  lacks  the  remarkable 
distance  of  which  Miss  Curtis  gives  so  fine  an  example,  is  sure,  and  her  putting 
and  approaching  are  deadly. 

Miss  Sargent  has  the  honor  of  being  one  o{  the  first  women  golfers  of 
this  country  to  develop  a  good  game. 

Mrs.  Robert  C.  Hooper,  although  she  seldom  plays  away  from  her  home 
club,  is  another  of  the  best  golfers  of  the  Essex  County  Club,  as  are  Miss 
Harriot  Curtis  and  Mrs.  Philip  Dexter. 

The  Country  Club,  o'i  Brookline,  has  lately  opened  a  new  eighteen  hole 
course,  and  is  very  active  with  regard  to  women's  events.  Last  year  a  number 
of  informal  team  matches  were  played,  in  which  this  club  easily  proved  its 
superiority  by  winning  ninety-nine  holes  in  the  course  of  the  season  to  fifty-nine 
won  by  its  opponents.  The  best  player  here  is  Miss  Louisa  A.  Wells,  a  golfer 
of  great   promise.      Her   style  is  vigorous   but    easy,   her    driving   being  superb. 


Golf —  the    Women 


33 


Other   good   players   are  Mrs.  F.  E.  Zerrahn,  Mrs.  T.   C.  Thacher,  Mrs.  Fred- 
erick Brooks,  Mrs.  G.  H.  Francis,  and  Miss  Alice  Sargent. 

The    Oakley   Country   Club    has  a   strong    representative   in    Miss    Pauline 
Mackay,  who   did   well   at   Philadelphia   last  year.      She  is  an  excellent   player, 


Miss    Willis. 


Miss    March. 


Substitutes. 
Mrs.    Adams. 


Miss   Swords.      Mrs.    Morgan. 


Miss   Wetmore. 


Miss  Bryce. 


IVlrs.    Shippcn,    Captain. 


Miss   Kip. 


Miss   Hurlbut. 


The  Morris  County   Team,   igoo. 

possessed  of  great  nerve  and  resolution,  and  may  be  expected  to  win  a  high  place 
for  herself  within  the  next  year  or  two.  From  Concord  come  Miss  Fiske  and 
Miss  Grace  B.  Keyes,  the  latter  very  steady  and  always  dangerous. 

The  Newport  Golf  Club  is  the  home-course  of  Miss  Anna  Sands  and  Miss 
Maude  Wetmore.  The  latter  has  already  been  spoken  of  as  a  member  at  Mor- 
ristown.      Miss  Sands  from   the  first   has  held  a  high   place.      She  played  in  the 


j_^  Golf —  the    Women 


first  championship  at  Meadowbrook,  and  the  following  year  won  third  prize  at 
Morris  County.  She  was  then  absent  for  two  years,  but  her  play  in  1899 
showed  that  during  that  time  she  had  quite  kept  pace  with  her  rivals.  Her 
game  is  steady  and  accurate,  and  her  nerve  indomitable,  as  was  proved  by  her 
desperate  match  with  Mrs.  Fox,  when  she  brought  the  score  from  five  down  to 
all  even  at  the  last  green.  Her  swing  is  graceful  and  easy,  with  a  perfect  follow- 
through. 

From  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  come  the  Misses  Bishop,  both  good,  while  from 
Pittsfield,  Mass.,  comes  Mrs.  E.  A.  Manice,  a  golfer  of  first-class  skill,  who  has 
not  yet  done  herself  justice  in  championship  play.  Her  long  game  is  especially 
strong,  and  in  1898  she  won  the  driving  competition  at  Ardsley,  and  in  1900 
her  drive  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-nine  yards  one  inch  was  beaten  by  only  four 
inches. 

Leaving  New  England  and  going  toward  Chicago,  we  find  some  good 
golfers  at  Cincinnati.  Among  these  Miss  Lucy  Herron  deserves  an  even  higher 
place  than  she  has  made  for  herself.  She  is  one  of  the  largest  and  surest  drivers 
in  the  country,  and  her  game  is  throughout  clean  and  efl^ective.  Her  best  point 
is  match-play,  at  which  there  are  few  stronger  than  she.  Other  good  players 
at  Cincinnati  are  Miss  Anne  Harrison  and  Miss  C.  E,  Longworth,  winner  of 
the  third  medal  in   1897. 

In  Chicago  the  two  principal  homes  of  women's  golf  are  Wheaton  and 
Ontwentsia.  Since  1895  Ontwentsia  has  held  an  annual  open  tournament,  which 
is  the  leading  event  of  its  kind  in  the  West.  Within  the  last  two  years  it  has 
had  as  many  as  fifty  entries.  In  1895  the  winner  was  Miss  John  Anna  Car- 
penter, in  1896  and  1897  Miss  Marion  Shearson,  in  1898  Mrs.  H.  C.  Chat- 
field  Taylor,  and  in  1899  Mrs.  W.  B.  Mcllvaine.  All  these  are  residents  of 
Chicago,  so  that  the  Governor's  Cup  has  been  kept  at  home,  although  the  tour- 
naments have  been  open  to  all  comers,  and  have  received  many  entries  from 
other  parts  of  the  country.  Besides  these  four  successive  winners,  there  are 
many  other  good  players  in  Chicago,  among   them  Miss  Anthony  of  Evanston. 

Wheaton  also  has  held  several  open  tournaments,  and  that  of  last  season 
was  won  by  Mrs.  Mcllvaine  of  Ontwentsia.  Her  talent  for  golf  must  be  called 
brilliant,  inasmuch  as  she  has  played  for  little  more  than  a  year.  She  at  one 
time  held  the  lawn-tennis  championship  of  America.  Mrs.  Chatfield  Taylor, 
Miss  Shearson,  and  Miss  Anthony  are  all  familiar  figures  in  the  National  cham- 
pionships, Mrs.  Taylor's  game  especially  having  been  always  noticeable  ;  while 
Miss  Carpenter,  still  a  school-girl,  gives  every  promise  of  becoming  an  unusually 
fine  player.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  so  few  Chicago  women  have  been 
seen  in  the  championships  ;  for  as  it  is,  no  satisfactory  comparison  can  be  made 
of  their  play  with  that  of  the  Easterners. 


Golf —  the    Women 


35 


Of  the  clubs  of  the  far  West,  it  is  impossible  to  speak,  since  they  have 
never  been  represented  on  the  championship  courses.  The  same  is  true  of  the 
Southern  clubs,  Baltimore  being   the  only  Southern  city  to  send  forth  aspirants 


for  the  highest  prize 
Coming  from  there, 
Griener  have  both  ap- 

In  attempting  to 
of  the  golfers,  it  is,  of 
that  only  those  can  be 
in  some  way  brought 
notice;  there  may  be 
whom  the  general 
such  as  Mrs.  B.  D. 
among  our  first  three 
who  is  known  gen- 
her  participation  in 
which    was     held    at 

I  n  comparing 
ent  players,  it  is  best 
drive,  which  betrays 
individual    pecu- 


(■ 


i? 


•9^ 


V 


Miss  Margaret  Curtis. 


of  our  golfing  world. 
Miss  McLane  and  Mrs. 
peared  to  advantage, 
give  this  general  idea 
course,  understood 
spoken  of  who  have 
themselves  to  public 
many  strong  players 
public  never  hears  ot, 
Robinson,  who  ranks 
or  four  golfers,  and 
erally  only  through 
one  small  tournament 
Knollwood. 
the  style  of  the  differ- 
to  speak  first  of  the 
the  most  marked 
liarities. 


As  examples  of  the  orthodox  full  swing.  Miss  Hecker,  Miss  Curtis,  and  Mrs. 
Manice  are  as  good  as  can  be  found.  Their  styles  resemble  each  other  both  in 
appearance  and  result.  All  three  bring  the  club  back  slowly,  rather  low  around 
the  shoulders,  letting  the  arms  go  out  so  that  the  club  head  describes  a  large 
circle.  After  a  full  back  swing  they  sweep  the  ball  easily  ofl^  the  tee  without 
the  appearance  of  much  exertion,  changing  from  one  leg  to  the  other,  and 
getting  the  full  advantage  of  their  shoulder  and  body  weight.  They  all  get  a 
very  long  ball.  Miss  Hecker's  perhaps  being  a  trifle  the  lowest  ot  the  three. 
Miss  Marion  Oliver  and  Miss  Cassatt  have  much  the  same  swing,  with  an 
equally  good  result,  and  so  also  has  Mrs.  Fox,  except  that  in  her  case  it  is  not 
quite  so  full.      Her  drive,  however,  is  quite  as  long  as  any  woman's  in  America. 

Of  our  other  longest  players.  Miss  Hoyt  has  a  style  peculiarly  her  own. 
She  brings  the  club  very  low  around  her  shoulders,  and  at  the  same  time  her 
whole  body  curves  away  from  the  ball  like  a  bent  spring.  As  she  strikes  the 
spring  is  released,  and  the  suddenly  added  weight  of  her  body  helps  to  give 
the  ball  distance.  There  is  not  an  inch  of  her,  from  her  feet  up,  which  does 
not  help,  with  weight  or  muscle,  to  send  the  ball  farther.  A  very  complete 
control  of  all  the  muscles,  together  with  great  suppleness  and  vigor,  are 
necessary  to  maintain  successfully  such  form  as  this.      Miss  Hoyt's  driving,  how- 


Sr 


Miss  Helen  F.  Bishop. 

ever,  is  excelled  hy  none  of  her  rivals,  although  her  actual  strength  is  less  than 
that  possessed  by  many  of  them. 

Miss  Lucy  Herron  is  a  long  driver  who  gives  a  beautiful  example  of  the 
quick,  machine-like  swing  used  by  so  many  of  the  school-boys.  The  club  is 
brought  back  very  rapidly,  the  shoulders  turning  squarely  to  follow  the  arms, 
and  giving  them  tree  play  to  swing  out  from  the  bodv.  Miss  Herron's  club 
usually  describes  a  small  circle  over  her  head  at  the  finish,  so  great  is  the  force 
of  her  follow-through. 

Miss  Griscom,  whose  driving  is  almost  as  good  as  that  of  the  players  already 
mentioned,  uses  an  orthodox  full  swing,  giving  the  appearance  of  little  more 
effort,  especially  in  the  follow-through,  where  her  arms  throw  themselves  across 
her  body  from  right  to  left  instead  of  going  outward  and  upward  after  the  ball. 

Mrs.  Morgan  is  a  rather  long  driver,  who  gets  her  distance  entirely  from 
the  great  size  of  the  circle  of  her  swing,  and  the  force  of  her  blow  ;  the  exact 
opposite  of  Miss  Terry,  whose  play  is  so  easy  and  natural  that  she  seems  to  put 
hardly  an  ounce  of  strength  into  any  of  her  strokes. 

In  the  driving  competition  at  the  last  championship,  four  out  of  the  six 
best  drivers  used  only  a  half  swing  ;  while  the  winner.  Miss  Louise  D.  Maxwell, 
of  Nassau,  hardly  raised  her  club  head  above  her  hip.  This  might  be  taken  as 
an  argument  in  favor  of  the  half  swing  ;  but  its  force  is  lessened  by  the  fact  that 
the  women  who  made  these  four  excellent  drives,  while  they  occasionally  get 
remarkable  balls,  do  not  as  a  rule  average  as  far  as  some  of  those  I  have  men- 


Miss  Georgianna  M.  Bishop. 


tioned,  who  use  the  full  swing.  If  we  study  the  methods  of  our  best  drivers, 
we  find  a  few  points  which  they  have  in  common.  First,  of  course,  is  the 
smoothness  and  harmony  of  the  swing,  bringing  in  the  weight  of  the  body  and 
the  strength  of  the  arms  at  exactly  the  right  moment ;  second,  the  size  ot  the 
swing — the  clubhead  describes  an  unusually  large  circle  through  the  air,  either 
by  means  of  using  long  clubs,  or  allowing  the  arms  great  freedom  in  going  out 
from  the  body  ;  third,  the  lowness  of  the  swing — the  club  is  brought  low  around 
the  shoulders,  so  that  its  head  travels  close  to  the  ground  for  some  time  before 
and  after  hitting  the  ball.  There  are  of  course  many  points  of  difference  among 
the  finest  drivers — they  may  take  a  short  or  a  long  swing,  a  quick,  or  a  slow 
swing,  stand  near  to  or  far  from  the  ball — but  in  these  few  points  they  appear 
to  agree. 

It  is  often  asserted  that  women  do  not  know  how  to  play  their  irons.  This 
is  true  of  all  but  a  very  few.  Miss  Hoyt  is  the  best  all-around  iron  player,  her 
cleek  shots  going  as  far  as  an  ordinary  woman's  drive,  and  her  general  play  with 
the  irons  being  almost  perfect.  The  uneven  ground  at  Shinnecock  has  taught 
her  to  run  her  short  approaches  with  the  midiron,  which  she  does  with  great 
effect,  although  this  style  of  play  is  in  itself  not  so  pretty  as  that  of  the  ball 
pitched  up  and  dropped  dead  on  the  green.  Miss  Hecker  is  the  only  woman  I 
have  observed,  who  uses  the  real  professional  midiron  stroke  for  approaches  of 
one  hundred  yards  or  so — pitching  the  ball  very  high  into  the  air,  so  that  it  rolls 
but  a  few  yards.      Miss  Griscom  gives  the  most   perfect  and   graceful  exhibition 


J 8  Golf —  the    Women 


of  short  approaching,  using  her  forearms  and  wrists  with  beautiful  flexibility  and 
accuracy.  Miss  Wetmore,  Miss  Terry,  and  Miss  Herron  are  all  unusually  tine- 
iron-players,  but  apart  from  these  and  a  few  others  the  general  run  of  women 
players,  and  especially  beginners,  rely  too  much  on  the  brassey,  and  are  at  a  loss 
when  confronted  by  a  stroke  of  medium  length.  When  it  comes  to  the  short 
game — putting  and  short  approaches — the  oldest  golfers,  those  who  have  been 
playing  for  four  or  five  years,  appear  to  excel.  Miss  Griscom,  Miss  Wetmore, 
Miss  Sands,  Mrs.  Fox,  Mrs.  Morgan,  and  Miss  N.  C.  Sargent  are  all  safe  and 
steady  putters,  and  far  more  certain  on  the  green  than  most  of  the  women,  who, 
although  they  have  had  time  to  become  brilliant  golfers,  have  not  had  the 
advantage  of  so  many  years  o'i  practice. 

Taking  the  players  collectively.  New  York  is  undoubtedly  the  strongest  of 
the  large  cities,  then  Philadelphia,  Boston,  and  Chicago.  In  naming  a  team  of 
ten  for  "  All-America,"  I  should  choose  Miss  Hoyt,  Miss  Griscom,  Mrs.  Fox, 
Miss  Terry,  Miss  Margaret  Curtis,  Miss  Elsie  Cassatt,  Miss  Hecker,  Miss  Wet- 
more, Miss  Sands,  and  Mrs.  Manice,  although  the  skill  possessed  by  a  large  group 
of  leaders  is  so  nearly  identical  that  the  list  might  be  doubled  and  made  to 
include  Miss  M.  Oliver,  Miss  Herron,  Mrs.  Morgan,  Miss  Mackay,  Mrs.  Pen- 
dleton Rogers,  Miss  N.  C.  Sargent,  Mrs.  Mcllvaine,  Miss  Davids,  Miss  Wells, 
and  Miss  Hurlbut  without  materially  lowering  the  quality  of  the  team.  Indeed, 
if  we  stretched  it  ten  more  and  took  in  Miss  Keyes,  Mrs.  Cochrane,  Miss  Van- 
derhoef,  Miss  Fargo,  Miss  Howe,  Mrs.  Shippen,  Miss  Bryce,  Miss  Kipp,  Miss 
Wickham,  and  Miss  Willis,  there  would  still  be  no  very  great  difference  between 
the  first  and  the  last. 

As  to  the  skill  of  our  best  golfers,  it  is  of  course  respectable,  and  constantly 
improving  ;  each  year  shows  a  gain,  both  in  the  distance  covered  and  in  surety 
of  stroke.  Nevertheless  it  is  a  fact  which  has  been  commented  upon  that 
American  women  are  less  advanced  in  golf  than  the  men.  We  do  not  play  so 
near  by  several  strokes,  to  the  women's  bogey,  or  "  Mrs.  Bogey,"  to  whom  due 
allowance  is  made  for  her  slighter  strength,  as  the  men  do  to  their  Colonel. 
"  Dufi^ers  "  among  us  are  as  a  rule  worse  than  among  the  men,  so  that  although 
we  have  not  advanced  as  far,  we  have  probably  made  at  least  equal  progress 
relatively  in  arriving  where  we  are  ;  but  for  all  this  there  is  no  reason  why 
women  should  not  play  as  clean  and  perfect  golf,  on  a  more  limited  scale,  as 
men  do. 

The  healthfulness  of  golf  has  been  so  often  spoken  of,  especially  as  com- 
pared with  tennis,  that  it  is  interesting  to  notice  here  that  tournament  golf  is,  if 
anything,  more  difficult  and  fatiguing  to  the  women  players  than  tournament 
tennis.  A  golf  match  is  distinctly  a  greater  tax  upon  the  nerves,  and  demands 
a   longer    and    more   intense    concentration    of    attention    and    effort    than    any 


Golj —  the    Women 


39 


game  that  has  the  soothing  influence  of  violent  exercise.      I  know  from  observa- 
tion that  a  championship  golf  tournament  is  more  exhausting  to  the  competitors 
than    were   the    championship    tennis    tournaments.       Probably    quite    as    many 
women  have  broken  down  from  overgolling  as  from  too   much   tennis.     There 
is  always  curiosity  to  know  the  relative  standing  of  the  men  and  women.      It  is 
only   the   very   best  among    women   who 
have   any   right    to    be    compared.      The 
most  expert  often  play  in  class  B  in  the 
men's   competitions,   and    receive  a   han- 
dicap  of    from   ten    to   twenty-five  from 
scratch  ;   while   in   match-play  they  need 
at  least  a  half  or  two-thirds  of  a  stroke  a 
hole  from  a  professional  or  a  crack  who 
is   at    the    top    of   his   game.      The   best 
woman  player   must   receive  some  handi- 
cap from  any  man  of  pretensions  ;   while 
she    may   be    relied   upon    to    defeat  one 
who  would  be  classed  as  third-rate.     Miss 
Hoyt's     record    of    eighty-nine    for    the 
Shinnecock  course  is  thirteen  strokes  be- 
hind   the    men's ;    most    courses    show   a 
difference  of  fifteen  to  twenty-five  strokes 
between  the   men's  and  women's  records. 
The  best   of  us,   of  course,   play   "better 
golf"  than  many  of  the  men  who  defeat 
us  ;   but  it  is  of  a  smaller  pattern,  so  that 
we  lose  in  distance  more  than  we  gain  in 
accuracy.      A  woman  handicapped  in  the 
men's  class  is  more  effective  as  a  partner 
in  a  foursome  than  when  alone,  for  here 
her  lack   of  distance  may  easily  be  com- 
pensated for  when  near   or  on  the  green. 
It  is  greatly  to   be  hoped   that  the  ever- 
more pressing  question  of  women's  privileges  on  the  men's  links  will  be  decided 
by  those  with  whom  the  decision  rests,  the  men,  in  a  spirit  of  favor  for  women. 
The  latter  ought  not  to   be   turned   off  the  courses  eyi  masse  on  certain  days,  as 
many  o/  the  men  would  like  to  have  done  ;   but,  instead,  a  certain  grade  of  play 
on  the  women's  part   might   be   made  a  basis  for   their  admission.      While,  of 
course,  it  cannot  be  asked  that  the  men  shall  subject   themselves   to  being  both- 
ered on  their  holidays  by  woman  beginners,  it  would  none  the  less  be  ungracious 


Miss  Lucy  Herron. 


40 


Golf —  the    Women 


and  generally  hurtful  ot  the  game  if  women  of  keen  interest  and  enough  profi- 
ciency in  it  to  entitle  them  to  enter  in  class  B  should  be  shut  out,  as  many  pro- 
pose. The  men,  by  sharing  the  courses  with  us  from  the  first,  a  courtesy  which 
would  never  have  been  dreamed  of  in  the  foreign  homes  of  golf,  have  shown 
that  it  is  not  as  women  that  they  object  to  us  on  the  links,  but  merely  as  the 
cause  of  delay  and  interruption.  We  may,  therefore,  hope,  as  the  courses  be- 
come more  crowded  and  the  women's  playing  more  restricted,  as  must  inevitably 
happen,  that  to  such  women  as  are  fairly  entitled  to  compete  with  many  of  the 
men  there  will  be  accorded  the  privileges  they  deserve. 


A 


Miss  Marvin. 


WOMEN'S  CHAMPIONSHIP  RECORDS 

Compiled   bv   H.   L.    FitzPatrick 

The  first  women's  championship  was  at  eighteen  holes  medal  play,  at  the 
Meadowbrook  Club,  in  November,  1895,  ^^e  special  prize  being  a  cup  presented 
by  R.  D.  Winthrop,  Jr.,  and  W.  H.  Sands.  Since  then  the  competitions  have 
begun  with  a  medal-play  qualifying  round,  the  survivors  finishing  at  match  play. 
Eight  only  qualified  in  1896  and  1897,  hut  since  then  the  number  to  qualify 
has  been  sixteen.  The  winner  has  her  name  inscribed  on  the  perpetual  cham- 
pionship trophy,  the  gift  of  the  late  Robert  Cox,  M.P.,  of  Edinburgh,  presented 
in  1896  to  the  United  States  Golf  Association,  and  wins  outright  a  gold  medal. 
There  is  a  silver  medal  for  the  runner-up,  with  bronze  medals  for  the  defeated 
semi-finalists.  The  special  gold  medal  for  the  best  score  in  the  qualifying 
round  has  been  won  as  follows  : 


1896.  Morris  County  Golf  Club.      Low  score,   Miss    Beatrix   Hoyt,  95  ;   high   score 
to  quahfy,  i  1 1. 

1897.  Essex   Country  Club.      Low  score,    Miss    Beatrix   Hoyt,    108;   high   score   to 
quahfy,  131. 

1898.  Ardsley  Club.      Low  score.  Miss  Beatrix  Hoyt,  92  ;   high  score  to  qualify,  109. 

1899.  Philadelphia  Country  Club.      Low  score.  Miss   Beatrix  Hoyt,  97  ;   high  score 
to  qualify,  107. 

1899.   Shinnecock  Hills  Golf  Club.      Low  score,  Miss  Beatrix  Hoyt,  94;   high  score 
to  qualify,  1 1 1 . 


M 

m: 

M 
M 
M: 

M 

m: 

M 
M 
M 
M 
M 
M 
M 
M: 
M: 
M 
M: 
M 
Mi 
Mi 
M 
M 
Mi 
M 
Mi 


May  Barron,  Ardsley    

May  Bird,  Meadowbrook 

G.  M.  Bishop,  Broolclavvn 

Madeline  Boardman,  Essex 

Charles  S.  Brown,  Shinnecock  Hills 

Edith  D.  Bart,  Philadelphia 

Katharine  Cassatt,  Philadelphia 

Elsie  F.  Cassatt,  Philadelphia 

A.  DeWitt  Cochrane,  Ardslev 

Margaret  Curtis,  Essex 

Harriet  S.  Curtis,  Essex 

Alice  Dav,  Morris  County 

Caryl  Eidlitz,  Ardsley 

Louise  Field,  Morris  County 

C.  F.  Fox,  Huntingdon  Valley .  .  .  . 

F.  C.  Griscom,  Merion 

A.  Howland  Ford,  Morris  County. , 

J.  E.  Grainer,  Baltimore 

Harrison,  Baltusrol 

G.  Hecker,  Wee  Burn 

Lucy   Herron,   Cincinnati 

Beatrix   Hoyt,  Shinnecock  Hills .  .  . 

R.  C.  Hooper,  Essex 

Grace  B.  Keyes,  Concord 

Caroline   Livingston,  Westbrook .  .  . 
C.  E.  Longworth,  Cincinnati 


Meadow- 

Morris Co., 

Manchester, 

Ardsley, 

Philadelphia 

Country, 

1899. 

brook,  1895. 

1896. 

1897. 

1898. 



— 

— 

— 

R'd  I 

'73 

_ 

z 

R'd  I 

132(1) 

— 

N.Q.I39 

R'd  I 

— 

R'd-2 

N.Q.I  10 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  2 

N.Q.,2, 

— 

— 

N.Q.112 

Semi-finals 

— 

— 

— 

N.Q.113 

R'd  2 

— 

— 

R'd  I 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  I 

— 

— 



— 

N.Q.113 

R'd  I 

— 

— 

— 

Semi-finals 

— 

No  card 

N.Q.I22 

— - 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

N.Q.I  20 

Runner-up 

158 

R'd  I 

Semi-finals 

Semi-finals 

R'd  I 





R'd  I 

N.Q.108 

150 

— 

— 

— 

N.Q.,09 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  I 

— 

— 

R'd  I 

N.Q.113 

N.Q.108 

— 

Won 

Won 

Won 

R'd  I     . 

No  card 

— 

R'd  I 





— 

— 

— 

R'd  I 

N.Q.117 

— 

N.(3.i29 

Semi-finals 

— 

N.Q.121 

Shinnecock 
Hills,  1900. 

N.Q.I  19 
N.Q..13 

N.Q..13 

N.Q.113 


R'd  I 

Runner-up 

R'd  1 

N.Q.123 

R'd  z 

Won 


R'd  2 

N.Q.113 

Semi-finals 

R'd  2 
R'd  I 


42 


Golf —  the    Women 


Miss  Pauline  Mackay,  Oal;ley 

Mrs.  E.  A.  Manice,  Lenox 

Mrs.  J.  Warren  MerriJl,  Essex 

Mrs.  J.  F.  McFadden,   Philadelphia.  .  .  , 

Miss  F.  K.  McLane,  Baltimore  .  , 

Miss  F.  McNeeley,  Merion 

Mrs.  W.  Fellowes  Morgan,  Baltusrol .  .  . 

Miss  Cora  Oliver,  Albany 

Miss  Marion  Oliver,  Albany 

Miss  C  H.  Parrish,  Shinnecock  Hills  ,  . 
Mrs.  N.  Pendleton  Rogers,  Hillside.  .  .  . 

Miss  Anna  Sands,  Newport 

Miss  N.  C.  Sargeant,  Essex 

Miss  Marion  Shearson,  Chicago 

Miss  Helen  Shelton,  Morris  County.  .  .  . 
Mrs.  William  Shippen,  Morris  County.  , 

Miss  Alice  Strong,  Seabright 

Miss  Jane  Swords,  Morris  Countv 

Miss  Eunice  Terry,  Ardsley 

Mrs.  W.  B.  Thomas,  Essex 

Mrs.  H.  Toulmin,  Merion 

Mrs.  Arthur  Turnure,  Shinnecock  Hills . 

Miss  Ruth  Underhill,  Nassau 

Miss  Maude  K.  Wetmore,  Newport  .  .  . 
Miss  F.  Ethel  Wickham,  Shinnecock  Hill 


Meadow- 
brook,  1895. 


164 


155 

134(2) 

161 

14; 


141 


15s 


Morris  Co.,  '  Manchester, 

1897. 


R'd  I 


R'd  I 

N.Q.II7 

Semi-finals 


Semi-finals        — 
I        —         Runner-up 

R'd  I  — 

R'd  I      N.Q.  141 
N.Q.I  28  — 


Runner-up 
N.Q.125 


N.Q.I  41 
N.Q.148 


Ardsley, 


Philadelphia     „,.  , 

^       J         Shinnecock 
Country, 

1899. 


I  Hills,  1900. 


R'd  I 
N.Q.iio 

R'd    2 


R'd  2    ' 
Withdrew 

R'd  2 
N.Q.iio 

R'd  I 
N.O.108 


R'd  I 


Semi-finals 
N.Q.I  10  j 

■—         N.Q.IIO 
—  R'd  2 

R'd  I  — 

N.Q.  121  — 

R'd  I     'N.Q.IIO 
R'd  I     I       — 
R'd  I 
N.Q.  108 


R'd  2 
Runner-up 
N.Q.I  12 


Won 
Withdrew 


R'd 
R'd 


N.Q.  II  5 

Semi-finals 
R'd  1 
R'd  I 
R'd  I 


OTHER    QUALIFYING    ROUND    STARTERS,    WITH     CARDS     (WHEN 

RETURNED) 

1896. — Miss  E.  R.  Catlin,  Morris  County,  135;  Miss  F.  A.  Clarke,  Misquamicut, 
129;  Mrs.  H.  E.  Coe,  Shinnecock  Hills,  133  ;  Miss  Alice  D.  Field,  Morris  County,  130; 
Miss  Anabel  Green,  Englewood,  137;  Miss  E.  N.  Little,  Morris  County,  127;  Mrs.  H. 
W.  McVicker,  Tuxedo,  118;  Miss  E.  S.  Oliver,  Albany,  116;  Mrs.  G.  R.  Parsons, 
Agawam  Hunt,  162;  Miss  Alice  W.  Post,  Morris  County,  122;  Miss  E.  M.  Wylie, 
New  Haven,  161  ;   Mrs.  F.  E.  Zerrahn,  Brookline,  113. 

1897.  —  Mrs.  M.  B.  L.  Bradford,  Concord,  153  ;  Miss  Julia  Bacon,  Brookline,  149  ; 
Mrs.  S.  V.  R.  Crosby,  Essex,  151;  Mrs.  J.  R.  Dilworth,  Pittsburg,  154;  Miss  C.  S. 
Gannett,  Essex,  139  ;  Miss  M.  P.  Hamlen,  Essex,  133  ;  Mrs.  H.  W.  McVicker,  Tuxedo, 
145;  Miss  McArra,  Essex,  148;   Mrs.  F.  Warren,  Jr.,  Brookline,  172. 

1898. — Mrs.  H.  B.  Ashmore,  Baltusrol;  Miss  E.  A.Anderson,  Scranton,  117; 
Mrs.  J.  J.  Astor,  Newport;  Miss  Ann  Archbold,  Ardsley  ;  Miss  Helen  Barney,  Ardsley  ; 
Miss  B.  C.  Howe,  Pittsburg,  no;  Miss  Lillian  Brooks,  Ardsley,  121;  Miss  Grace 
Chauncey,  Dyker  Meadow,  125;  Miss  A.  H.  Davis,  Lakewood,  118;  Mrs.  F.  L.  Eld- 
ridge,  Ardsley,  125  ;  Mrs.  C.  S.  Farnum,  Philadelphia,  127  ;  Mrs.  N.  M.  Garland,  Marine 
and  Field,  130;  Mrs.  W.  M.  Gorham,  Philadelphia,  112;  Mrs.  H.  Lewis,  Philadelphia,  129  ; 
Mrs.  F.  B.  Keech,  Ardsley,  117;  Miss  Jeannette  Kittridge,  Ardsley,  120;  Miss  H.  H. 
Maule,  Philadelphia,  122  ;  Miss  M.  de  L.  Merian,  St.  Paul  ;  Miss  L.  D.  Maxwell,  Nassau, 
116;  Miss  M.  C.  Maule,  Philadelphia,  130;  Miss  G.  L.  Maxwell,  Nassau,  143;  Miss 
M.  Murphey,  Albany,  160;  Miss  C.  Mock,  Philadelphia;  Mrs.  J.  Curtis  Patterson,  Hunt- 
ingdon Valley,  123  ;  Miss  Reid,  St.  Andrews,  120;  Miss  Sophia  Starr,  Philadelphia,  119; 
Mrs.  H.  C.  Chatfield  Taylor,  Onwentsia  ;  Mrs.  John  T.  Terry,  Jr.,  Ardsley  ;  Miss  Aline 
S.  Taylor,  Philadelphia,  133  ;   Mrs.  J.  B.  C.  Tappan,  Westbrook,  130;   Mrs.  M.  M.  Van 


«' 


Golf  —  the    Women  ^ j 


Buren,  Ardsley,    115;   Mrs.  J.  J.  Vatable,  Tuxedo;   Miss  C.  G.  Willis,  Morris  County, 
113  ;   Mrs.  J.  T.  Welles,  Englewood,   119;    Mrs.  F.  E.  Zerrahn,  Brookline,  120. 

1899. — Mrs.  R.  H.  Barlow,  Merion,  108;  Miss  Ethel  Burnett,  Misquamicut,  iii  ; 
Mrs.  William  J.  Berg,  Yountakah,  \\i\  Miss  J.  A.  Berwynd,  Philadelphia,  112;  Miss 
Helen  Darlington,  Merion,  116  ;  Miss  G.  H.  Fiske,  Concord,  1 16  ;  Mrs.  W.  M.  Gorham, 
Philadelphia,  no;  Miss  E.  W.  GofFe,  Westchester,  114;  Mrs.  Alan  H.  Harris,  Philadel- 
phia, iia;  Miss  Elsa  Hurlbut,  Morris  County,  no;  Miss  Sybil  Kane,  Tuxedo,  115; 
Miss  E.  N.  Lockvvood,  Lexington,  in  ;  Miss  Louise  D.  Maxwell,  Nassau,  109;  Mrs.  P. 
C.  Madeira,  Huntingdon  Valley,  112;  Miss  Grace  Marvin,  Albany,  115;  Mrs.  S.  C. 
Price,  Philadelphia,  112;  Mrs.  J.  C.  Patterson,  Huntingdon  Valley,  116;  Miss  K.  M. 
Rowland,  Fairfield,  108;  Miss  Margaret  M.  Riley,  Philadelphia,  109;  Miss  Elizabeth 
Steele,  Merion;  Miss  A.  P.  R.  Spence,  Merion,  iia;  Miss  E.  N.  Supplee,  Philadelphia, 
no;  Mrs.  F.  R.  Shattuck,  Cape  May,  109;  Miss  M.  S.  Spence,  Merion,  108;  Miss  C. 
G.  Willis,  Morris  County,  n5;   Miss  L.  A.  Wells,  Brookline,  ni. 

1900. — Miss  Bessie  Anthony,  Evanston,  ny;  Miss  C.  Barnes,  Lenox,  n2;  Miss 
E.  Burnett,  Misquamicut,  n4;  Mrs.  W.  J.  Berg,  Yountakah,  n6;  Mrs.  S.  Bettle,  Merion, 
133;  Miss  Lillie  Brown,  Ardsley,  133;  Mrs.  R.  L  Carter,  Cincinnati,  120;  Miss  G. 
Chauncey,  Dyker  Meadow,  120;  Miss  M.  Chauncey,  Dyker  Meadow,  ni;  Miss  E. 
Collins,  St.  Louis,  122;  Miss  J.  S.  Clark,  119;  Mrs.  W.  Curtis,  Essex,  113  ;  Miss  A.  B. 
Eddy,  Nassau,  119;  Miss  M.  S.  Eddy,  Nassau,  125;  Miss  M.  J.  Goddard,  Newport, 
124;  Miss  E.  W.  GofFe,  Westchester,  130;  Miss  Bessie  Howe,  Pittsburg,  in;  Miss 
M.  Harrison,  Misquamicut,  iii  ;  Miss  M.  P.  Lippencott,  Huntingdon  Valley,  136;  Miss 
Grace  Marvin,  Albany,  112  ;  Miss  Louise  D.  Maxwell,  115  ;  Miss  Marion  Morse,  Kansas 
City,  121;  Mrs.  S.  C.  Price,  Philadelphia,  138;  Mrs.  Quackenbush,  Maidstone,  121; 
Miss  L.  Richardson,  Nassau,  141;  Miss  M.  M.  Riley,  Philadelphia,  124;  Mrs.  E. 
M.  Roesbeck,  Cincinnati,  117;  Miss  J.  Russell,  Shinnecock  Hills,  115;  Miss  Sophia  Starr, 
Huntingdon  Valley,  113;  Miss  F.  Suydam,  Dyker  Meadow,  117;  Mrs.  H.  St.  John 
Smith,  Tuxedo,  135;  Mrs.  T.  C.  Thacher,  Brookline,  114;  Miss  C.  G.Willis,  Morris 
County,    124;   Miss  M.  Wilson,   Onwentsia,  119;   Mrs.  M.  C.  Work,  Atlantic  City,  112. 


Miss  Louise  Maxwell. 


GOLF  -  THE  MEN 


H.  M.  HARRIMAN 

Champion  t899 

F.  S.  DOUGLAS 

Champion  1898 


The  Havemeyer  Trophy. 


GOLF-THE  MEN 

BY   H.    M.    HARRIMAN,    WITH   A 
NOTE  BY  FINDLAY  S,  DOUGLAS 


HIS  seems  to  be  a  transitory  period  in  American  golf.  New  men 
are  coming  up,  the  new  links  are  planned  under  the  most  scien- 
tific conditions,  and  new  ideas  have  come  in  regarding  the  con- 
struction, equipment  and  management  of  the  club-houses.  The 
new-comers  will  likely  play  in  more  "orthodox"  style,  but  ex- 
cept in  the  rare  instances  when  the  element  of  luck  enters  in,  the 
record  scores  of  the  present  will  hardly  be  beaten  much  in  the  future,  especially 
as  the  tendency  is  to  lengthen  out  the  links.  Presumably  the  golf  of  the  rising 
set  will  not  be  so  much  better  than  the  best  of  those  playing  at  the  present  time, 
but  the  good  performances  will  be  more  often  duplicated. 

With  the  advent  of  the  new  and  steadier  players  comes  a  wide-spread  desire 
.toward  perfecting  the  golf  courses  with  the  object  of  placing  a  never-failing 
premium  on  good  play.  Yet  there  is  no  attempt  to  make  the  game  more 
expensive.  To  the  individual,  golf  is,  and  should  be  kept,  less  expensive  than 
yachting,  racing,  polo,  or  trap-shooting,  while  it  is  as  sporting  and  healthful 
as  any  form  of  recreation  on  land  or  water. 

That  golf  has  come  to  stay  as  a  popular  American  pastime,  is  in  my  opinion 
established  beyond  doubt.  The  fact  is  demonstrated  by  the  enthusiasm  with 
which  it  is  being  played  by  persons  of  all  ages  and  conditions  in  every  part  of  the 
country.  A  further  guarantee  of  its  endurance  in  favor  is  the  sound  and  compre- 
hensive spirit  in  which  the  game  is  controlled  by  the  United  States  Golf  Association. 
Organized  in  December,  1894,  by  the  representatives  of  five  clubs — St.  Andrew's, 
Shinnecock  Hills,  Chicago  Golf,  Country  Club  of  Brookline,  and  Newport — 
there  are  now  nearly  thirty  associate,  or  voting,  members,  and  nearly  two  hun- 
dred allied  clubs.  The  success  of  the  association  was  at  the  start  vastly  aug- 
mented by  the  zeal  in  golf  of  its  first  president,  the  late  Theodore  A.  Have- 
meyer,  and  his  energetic  work  has  been  well  supplemented  by  his  successors  in 
the  office,  Laurence  Curtis  and  W.  B.  Thomas.  A  very  active  worker,  too,  in 
the  early  days,  was  the  first  secretary,  H.  O.  Tallmage,  who  represented  St.  An- 
drew's, which  under  the  presidency  of  John  Reid,  the  "  Father  of  American 
Golf,"  is  the  oldest  American  club,  dating  back  to  1886.  The  present  secre- 
tary, R.  Bage  Kerr,  of  the  Golf  Club  of  Lakewood,  is  also  a  painstaking  official. 
The  work  of  the  gentlemen  I  have  named  has  always  been  earnestly  supported 
by  those  who  have  served  at  different  times  on  the  Executive  Committee.     The 


48 


Golf —  the  Men 


influence  of  the  United  States  Golf  Association  has  been  advanced  materially  by 
the  subsidiary  local  organizations  established  in  difi^erent  parts  of  the  country,  on 
State  or  other  divisional  lines.  Perhaps  the  best  known  is  the  Metropolitan 
Golf  Association,  which  is  a  union  of  the  leading  clubs  within  fifty-five  miles  of 
New  York,  or  on  any  part  of  Long  Island.  H.  B.  Hollins,  of  Westbrook,  has 
been  the  president  until  this  year,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  R.  H.  Robertson, 

of  St.  Andrew's  and  Shinnecock  Hills.  The 
association  has  done  splendid  work  in  regu- 
lating the  conditions  of  open  tournaments  in 
its  district,  and  in  establishing  a  general  han- 
dicap, the  first  ever  attempted  by  a  local 
organization  here.  The  problem  was  a  hard 
one,  and  those  who  have  worked  it  out  de- 
serve much  credit.  Those  who  labored  to 
rate  the  men  were  Daniel  Chauncey,  Dyker 
Meadow;  A.  M.  Robbins,  St.  Andrew's; 
and  E.  C.  Kent,  Tuxedo. 

With  those  for  whom  the  game  is  some- 
thing more  than  a  means  of  obtaining  exer- 
cise, there  is  a  growing  demand  for  improved 
courses  on  championship  lines.  There  are 
i&\N,  if  any,  really  championship  courses  in 
the  country  at  present,  but  there  are  three  or 
four  which  could  be  brought  up  to  that  stand- 
ard with  a  comparatively  small  amount  of 
labor.  To  my  mind,  Wheaton  comes  nearer 
to  the  requirements  than  any  other.  The 
distances  are  well  thought  out,  and  the  greens 
are  thoroughly  protected  in  some  manner  or 
other,  while  through  the  green  is  very  good  except  in  extreme  seasons  of  the 
year.  I  should  place  Onwentsia  and  Garden  City  about  on  a  level,  although 
they  differ  greatly  as  regards  turf,  kind  of  bunkers,  etc.  The  characteristics  at 
Onwentsia  are  a  clay  soil  and  coarse  grass,  while  at  Garden  City  the  soil  has  a 
tendency  to  be  sandy  and  the  grass  is  of  a  fine  prairie  variety.  On  the  whole, 
I  think  perhaps  the  greens  at  Garden  City  are  better,  but  the  arrangement  of 
holes,  and  the  distances  are  not  so  good  as  at  Onwentsia.  In  the  natural  advan- 
tages of  climate,  quality  of  turf,  rolling  land,  and  natural  hazards,  Atlantic  City 
holds  first  place,  and  I  am  looking  forward  to  seeing  the  championship  there 
in  the  near  future. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  lay  down  a  hard-and-fast  schedule  on  which  a  golf 


John  Reid,  Jr. 


Golf —  the  Men 


49 


course  should  be  laid  out.  The  general  principle  should  be  to  have  the  holes 
as  varied  as  possible  in  their  playing  conditions.  Taking  the  basis  of  a  full  shot 
at  one  hundred  and  seventy  to  one  hundred  and  ninety  yards,  a  hole  should  be 
one,  two,  or  three  full  shots  from  the  tee,  and  the  bunkers  and  side  traps  should 
be  so  placed  that  every  poor  shot  would  be  punished.  A  short  hole  or  two, 
especially  when  over  a  quarry  or  some  similar  hazard,  is  often  a  pleasing  varia- 
tion on  the  round.  No  expense  is  too  great 
to  bring  up  the  turf,  by  constant  cutting,  roll- 
ing, and  watering.  Taking  as  a  guiding  prin- 
ciple that  a  links  should  be  laid  out  to  com- 
pel first-class  play,  the  natural  advantages  of 
the  land  must  be  utilized  to  give  variety  to 
the  play  and  character  to  the  course. 

One's  ability  at  different  games  must  de- 
termine his  rate  of  progress  at  golf.  Person- 
ally, when  the  amateur  championship  was 
under  way  at  Newport  in  1895,  I  was  teach- 
ing myself  the  game  at  Bar  Harbor,  in  com- 
pany with  Tyng,  Robbins,  and  Fenn.  In 
1896  I  failed  to  qualify  in  the  amateur  cham- 
pionship at  Shinnecock  Hills,  but  I  was  in 
the  first  set  at  the  Chicago  Golf  Club  in  the 
following  year.  I  did  not  play  at  Morris 
County  in  1898,  my  entry  having  gone  astray 
in  some  way,  and  in  1899  I  had  the  good 
fortune  to  win.  Through  this  experience, 
therefore,  I  should  say  that  four  years  are  re- 
quired to  make  a  fairly  good  player  of  any 
person  who  cares  to  take  up  the  game  in  ear- 
nest. It  is  easy  to  learn  to  play  well  enough  to  enjoy  a  round,  or  even  to  win  a 
friendly  match  or  so,  but  it  takes  time  to  learn  to  golf  in  good  form,  and  to  keep 
up  to  form  before  a  "  gallery  "  in  a  big  competition,  especially  when  your  oppo- 
nent is  making  no  mistakes.  To  do  this  is  a  test  of  both  nerves  and  muscles,  for, 
after  making  a  mess  of  a  hole,  the  inclination  to  press  must  be  checked,  or  else 
the  bad  luck  will  put  the  player  off  his  game,  while  to  keep  on  edge  during  a 
hard  thirty-six-hole  match  is  quite  a  trial  of  endurance.  The  amateur  cham- 
pionship since  1898  has  called  tor  a  week  of  thirty-six-hole  rounds. 

Undoubtedly,  a  good  professional  is  an  advantage  in  beginning  the  game, 
although  I  never  had  a  regular  lesson.  In  taking  up  the  game  alone,  although 
it  is  against   the   teachings  of  nearly  all   the  experts,  I  think  it   is  best  to  begin 


Charles  Hitchcock,   Jr. 


50 


Golf  —  the  Men 


with  an  iron,  and  to  practise  the  different  shots  for  an  hour  or  two  a  day. 
Then  the  course  should  be  played  over  with  the  kit  of  iron  clubs,  until  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  game  are  learned,  and  the  wooden  clubs  taken  up  last  of  all. 

I  think  each  player  should  suit  himself  in  the  choice  of  clubs,  and  indi- 
vidual option,  too,  seems  to  be  the  present  idea  in  regard  to  stance  and  swing. 
I  use  a  driver  with  a  thin  face,  i  's    inches  to  be  exact,  and  the  shaft  measures  42 

inches.  A  dogwood  head,  with  a  square 
of  leather  in  the  face,  is  what  I  like  best, 
but  doubtless  persimmon  or  beech  would 
be  quite  as  good.  I  grip  well  toward  the 
bottom  of  the  leather,  the  top  of  the  shaft 
projecting  about  three  or  four  inches.  The 
club  is  held  across  the  base  of  the  fingers, 
not  in  the  palm  of  the  hands,  and  I  do 
not  believe  in  holding  the  right  hand  very 
loosely.  My  wooden  clubs  are  of  the  or- 
dinary weight,  but  I  like  a  rather  stiff  and 
springy  shaft.  In  these  respects,  of  grip, 
length  ot  shaft,  weight  of  head,  and  the 
suppleness  of  the  shafts,  each  player  must 
V  suit  himself  to  obtain  the  best  results.     The 

old    bramble    pattern   of    ball,   a    27^2  ,   is 
what  I  like  best. 

I  believe  that  one  cannot  learn  cham- 
pionship golf  except  on  a  championship 
course,  for  continual  play  on  a  short,  badly  arranged  course  cramps  the  style 
and  takes  away  the  boldness  needed  in  trying  for  distance  when  a  long  carry 
must  be  made  to  clear  a  hazard.  At  this  juncture  the  player  only  familiar  with 
a  links  of  puzzling  hazards  and  with  so  narrow  a  playing  width  that  a  cautious, 
tacking  system  of  play  has  become  a  habit,  will  nearly  always  fail  when  a  bold, 
dashing,  almost  reckless  full  shot  is  required  to  reach  the  safe  ground  beyond  the 
distant  bunker.  It  is  the  early  training  on  links  that  compelled  good  golf  that 
forms  the  game  of  the  young  Scotch  and  English  players,  which,  with  the 
fact  that  they  take  up  the  clubs  very  early  in  life,  when  the  muscles  are  elastic, 
gives  them  a  power  and  method  as  yet  beyond  our  amateurs  as  a  class.  The 
two  best  amateurs  I  have  played  against,  H.  ].  Whigham  and  Findlay  S.  Doug- 
las, are  fine  examples  of  the  class  of  players  I  have  referred  to,  the  first  having 
learned  his  game  at  Prestwick  and  the  latter  at  St.  Andrew's.  Both  began  as 
school-boys  and  kept  up  their  game  at  college,  the  latter,  when  he  left  Scotland 
to  come  to  this  country,  having  been  the  Golf  Captain  of  St.  Andrew's  Univer- 


James  A.   Tyng. 


>i,\W.l-fi^ 


W.   J.   Tra.vis.      The  Finish  of  a  Full  Iron  Shot. 


Golf — the  Men 


53 


sity  team.  There  was  great  curiosity  to  see  Mr.  Douglas  play  on  his  advent  here, 
for  it  was  known  that  he  had  made  a  76  at  St.  Andrew's,  and  it  was  thought  that 
he  would  strengthen  the  forces  of  the  Eastern  amateurs,  who  until  then  had  had 
only  homebred  talent  to  pit  against  Mr.  Whigham,  Mr.  Macdonald,  Mr.  Forgan, 
and  the  other  Scotch-taught  golfers  in  the  West.  Mr.  Douglas  handled  the 
clubs  for  the  first  time  on  this  side  in  the  open  tournament  at  the  iialtusrol  (iolf 
Club,  in  May,  1897,  '^"^^'  ^^hhough  he  had 
never  teed  up  on  hard  dirt  before  and  was 
afraid  to  swing,  he  was  fifth  in  the  medal 
play  round  with  86,  H.  P.  Toler  winning 
with  81.  In  the  first  round  at  match- 
play,  however,  the  new  arrival  was  put  out 
by  Spotswood  D.  Bowers,  who  was  then 
at  the  top  of  his  game,  by  4  up  and  3  to 
play.  Mr.  Douglas  did  not  play  again  in 
an  open  tournament,  although  he  won  some 
private  matches  that  proved  his  game  was 
all  that  had  been  said  of  it,  until  the  ama- 
teur championship,  in  July,  at  Chicago. 
His  game  there  was  a  sterling  good  one, 
marred  only  by  a  tendency  to  be  wild  in 
direction  from  the  tee,  but  in  the  semi- 
finals he  was  beaten  by  II.  J.  Whigham, 
by  6  up  and  5  to  play.  Mr.  Douglas  had 
his  revenge  when  he  next  met  Mr.  Whig- 
ham, at  the  Golf  Club  of  Lakewood  open  tournament  tlie  following  Novem- 
ber, when  he  beat  the  Onwentsia  player  in  the  semi-finals.  The  next  year 
Mr.  Douglas  won  the  amateur  championship,  and  when  I  won  at  Onwentsia 
in  1899  he  was  the  runner-up.  Needless  to  say  Mr.  Douglas  had  won  many 
cups  at  open  tournaments,  although  an  infrequent  starter  in  such  contests  ;  and 
in  the  three  years  he  has  played  Number  One  on  the  Fairfield  Golf  CI  Lib  team, 
he  has  not  lost  a  hole  for  his  side.  He  did  not  play  in  the  team  match  against 
Canada  in  1898,  but  the  next  year,  in  the  return  match  at  Morris  County,  he 
scored  6  holes  for  the  United  States  team  by  beating  G.  S.  Lyon,  the  Canadian 
amateur  champion.  This  year  Mr.  Douglas  won  the  score  prize  in  the  Metro- 
politan and  was  runner-up  to  Mr.  Travis  in  the  amateur  championship.  On 
two  other  occasions  he  lost  to  the  amateur  champion,  but  in  the  last  open  tour- 
namenjt  of  the  year,  at  Atlantic  City,  Mr.  Douglas  had  his  revenge. 

As  an   instance  of  an  easy,  natural   style,  Mr.  Douglas,  to  my  mind,  comes 
nearer   to  the   ideal   of   perfection   than   any   amateur   on   our   links.      His   form 


Li.  E.   Gri scorn. 


54 


Golf  —  the  Men 


shows  a  perfect  mastery  of  all  the  clubs  and  of  every  department  of  the  game, 
from  tee  to  the  putting  green.  He  drives  a  clean,  long  ball,  generally  with  a 
hook  which  gives  it  a  fine  roll.  Through  the  green  Mr.  Douglas  is  a  grand 
player  with  the  spoon,  using  it  where  other  men  would  take  a  brassey  or  cleek, 
or  at  times  a  mid-iron,  and  he  also  relies  much  on  the  driver  through  the  green. 


Hugo  R.   Johnstone. 


Percy  R.  Pyne,  2d. 


very  seldom  taking  the  brassey  except  when  a  rough  lie  compels  it.  Mr. 
Douglas  has,  too,  a  command  of  all  of  the  iron  clubs,  but,  if  one  were  to  pick 
out  a  flaw  in  the  otherwise  well-balanced  game,  he  is  somewhat  uncertain  on 
the  putting  green. 

H.  J.  Whigham,  our  amateur  champion  of  1896  and  1897,  has  somewhat 
the  same  style  as  Mr.  Douglas,  but  his  is  the  rounder  Prestwick  swing  instead 
of  the  full  circle  of  classic  St.  Andrew's.  However,  he  seems  to  have  more 
snap  and  determination  in  his  game  than  his  Fairfield  competitor,  and  he  keeps 
the  ball  much  lower  to  the  ground  in  all  his  shots,  and,  on  the  approaches,  run- 
ning up  when  the  ground  permits  with  a  driving  mashie  or  a  slightly  laid  back 
mid-iron,  much  as  Vardon  does.  Mr.  Whigham  is  invariably  straight  and  at 
times  he  drives  a  very  long  ball  ;  this,  with  a  general  control  over  all  his  clubs, 
makes  him  a  very  steady  and  impressive  antagonist. 

Very  prominent,  too,  of  the  Scotch-instructed  school,  are  Charles  Blair 
Macdonald,  of  the  Chicago  Golf  Club,  and  A.  M.  Coats,  of  the  Newport  Golf 
Club.      I    name   first   the  Western   amateur,   for   he   has   done   perhaps   more   to 


Walter  J.    Travis. 
Winner  of  the   Championship,   igoo. 


Golf —  the  Men 


57 


spread  the  light  in  golf  than  any  other  clubman  in  the  United  States,  and,  after 
being  the  runner-up  in  the  two  informal  amateur  championships  of  1894,  at 
Newport  and  St.  Andrew's,  won  very  easily  in  the  first  United  States  Golf 
Association  amateur  championship,  in  1895,  at  Newport.  He  has  been  in  the 
last   four  at  our  championships   more  often   than  any  other   player,  and,  besides 


Walter  B.   Smith. 


Roderick   Terry,   Jr. 


Western  successes,  Mr.  Macdonald  has  won  international  honors  in  Canada.  In 
style  he  is  not  perhaps  as  "  orthodox  "  as  the  formal  Scotch  rules  require,  but 
he  is  usually  very  effective.  His  long  experience  has  made  him  a  very  capable 
match-player.  In  putting,  Mr.  Macdonald  is  very  good  ;  he  plays  all  his  shots 
to  be  up  and  goes  straight  for  the  back  of  the  hole.  A.  M.  Coats  has  played 
more  in  Scotland  than  any  other  American,  and  learned  the  game  there  when  a 
boy.  He  is  an  old  member  of  the  Prestwick  Golf  Club,  where  he  plays  for 
some  months  nearly  every  year.  Mr.  Coats  has  played  in  three  ot  our  amateur 
championships,  it  having  been  his  luck  to  be  put  out  by  Mr.  Whigham  at 
Shinnecock  Hills  and  Wheaton,  and  by  Mr.  Macdonald  at  Morris  County.  That 
his  game  is  a  strong  one  was  demonstrated  last  fall  at  the  Agawam  Hunt  open 
tournarhent,  when  he  easily  disposed  of  J.  G.  Thorp,  of  the  Oakley  Country 
Club,  vvho  had  been  very  prominent  in  the  amateur  championship  and  in  the 
tournaments  later  on  at  Bar  Harbor  and  about  Boston.  There  is  none  of  the 
home-bred  golfers  who   may  hope   for  an   easv  match   against   Mr.  Coats.      He 


5S 


Golf —  the  Men 


plays  a  beautifully  even  game  and  uses  the  wooden  putter  more  than  any  player 
I  know  of.  Personally,  I  don't  like  this  club,  but  I  don't  know  just  why. 
A.  G.  Lockwood,  the  young  Englishman  who  had  things  quite  his  own  way 
about  Boston  last  season,  has  a  very  confident,  easy  style  of  play  and   is  quite  in 


H.    B.    HoUtns,   Jr. 


R.   C.   Watson,   Jr. 


the  first  rank.  To  simplify  matters  I  will  consider  the  amateurs  in  two  divis- 
ions :  those  who  began  to  be  prominent  in  1897,  the  year  in  which  the  col- 
lege boys  first  appeared,  and  those  who  have  come  out  since. 

As  the  holder  of  the  title  of  amateur  champion,  won  (as  when  it  was  my 
luck  to  win  the  title  a  year  before)  after  having  won  the  Metropolitan  cham- 
pionship, Walter  J.  Travis  deserves  first  consideration  in  the  older  set.  His  first 
appearance  in  public  was  in  the  competition  at  Van  Cortlandt  Park,  on  Novem- 
ber 28,  1896,  for  a  set  of  prizes  presented  by  some  members  of  the  St.  Andrew's 
Golf  Club.  Immediately  thereafter  Mr.  Travis  joined  the  Oakland  Golf  Club, 
and  (for  he  is  a  zealous  supporter  of  the  open  tournaments)  I  suppose  that  since 
then  he  has  won  more  medals  and  cups  than  any  other  golfer  in  this  country,  a 
record  held  by  A.  H.  Fenn  until  he  joined  the  professional  ranks  in  1897.  C.  M. 
Hamilton,  the  Baltusrol  player,  who  won  the  first  cup  at  Van  Cortlandt  ;  A.  Z. 
Huntington,  later  of  the  Scranton  Country  Club,  and  Sidney  W.  Lockhart,  of 
St.  Andrew's,  also  played  in  public  for  the  first  time  in  the  Van  Cortlandt 
Park  contest,  in  which  Mr.  Travis  was  fifth. 


Golf —  the  Men 


59 


The  competition  was  at  medal  play  (Mr.  Hamilton  scoring  99  and  Mr. 
Travis  106),  the  form  of  the  game  at  which  the  latter  is  perhaps  the  best  player 
we  have,  for  the  close  calculation  necessary  in  the  score  game  suits  his  strong 
individuality    and    great    nerve    force.       Personally,   I    believe   that    this  studied 


Chester    Griswold,   Jr. 


J.    G.   Averell. 


method  is  a  weakness  at  match-play,  especially  on  account  of  its  tiring  effect 
during  a  championship,  but  that  it  does  not  mar  Mr.  Travis's  game  to  any  appre- 
ciable extent  is  demonstrated  by  the  list  of  high-class  players  he  has  defeated. 
In  driving  he  has  a  fairly  full  swing,  following  through  well  and  getting  a  long, 
low  ball  that  usually  runs  far  after  the  pitch.  Mr.  Travis  is  accurate  with  all 
his  clubs,  but  at  times  I  have  seen  him  miss  some  very  simple  puts. 

James  A.  Tyng,  of  the  Morris  County  Golf  Club,  is  also  a  methodical 
player  and  probably  the  most  conspicuous  of  the  old-time  base-ball  players  who 
have  taken  up  the  game.  In  1896  he  won  more  first  cups  in  open  tournaments 
about  New  York  than  any  other  amateur,  and,  although  he  has  not  been  so 
conspicuous  as  a  winner  since,  Mr.  Tyng  is  now  playing  a  better  game  than  at 
any  time  in  his  career.  He  is  still  in  the  first  flight,  but  there  are  more  good 
golfers  now  than  there  used  to  be.  He  has  rather  a  short  back  swing  and  a 
quick,  &nappy  follow  through,  the  vigorous  finish  to  the  stroke  being  done  by 
the  turn  of  the  shoulders  and  the  muscles  of  the  arms,  developed  by  his  early 
training    in   athletics.       He    is    a   very   good    putter.       Herbert    C.   Leeds,   who 


6o 


Golf  —  the  Men 


won  the  Southern  Cross  championship  at  Aiken,  in  the  spring  of  1896,  was 
also  a  famous  base-ball  player  and  general  athlete  in  his  college  days.  He  has 
a  shorter  swing  than  Mr.  Tyng,  but  drives  quite  as  long  a  ball  and  he  is  very 
reliable  in  all  phases  of  the  short  game.  In  the  open  championship  of  1898,  at 
the  Myopia  Hunt  Club,  his  home  links,  Mr.  Leeds   led  all   the  amateurs  with 

347,  and,  on  the  first  day,  with  165,  he 
was  third  on  the  list,  only  two  strokes  be- 
hind Will  Anderson,  the  leader  in  a  field  of 
forty-one  professionals  and  eight  amateurs. 
A  comment  or  two  on  the  personages 
in  the  amateur  championship  of  1896,  at 
Shinnecock  Hills,  will  clear  the  way  for 
the  consideration  of  the  younger  set  who 
came  out  later.  In  the  runner-up  to  Mr. 
Whigham,  the  Oakley  Country  Club  in- 
troduced to  the  Metropolitan  players  a  self- 
taught  golfer  in  Mr.  J.  G.  Thorp,  who  has 
since  kept  himself  well  to  the  front.  His 
style  reflects  several  mannerisms,  almost 
oddities  in  fact,  with  which  or  in  spite  of 
which  his  game  at  times  is  very  efi'ective. 
One  peculiarity  is  that  Mr.  Thorp  invari- 
ably takes  three  full  back  swings  in  ad- 
dressing the  ball  on  the  tee  or  through  the 
green,  a  procedure  I  should  think  very  tir- 
ing in  the  course  of  a  long  match.  An 
unusual  accuracy  and  an  intense  determi- 
nation to  win  are  the  qualities  that  seem 
to  pull  him  through  with  success  so  often. 
William  H.  Sands,  of  the  Country  Club  of  Westchester,  whom  Mr.  Thorp  beat 
in  the  second  round  at  Shinnecock,  was  at  that  period  regarded  as  one  of  the 
strongest  players  in  the  country.  His  game  is  of  the  dashing,  powerful  sort,  any 
lack  of  finish  in  swing  or  follow  through  being  compensated  for  by  the  strength 
and  vim  he  puts  into  every  stroke.  Mr.  Sands  was  the  first  to  supplant  L.  B. 
Stoddart,  the  winner  of  the  St.  Andrew's  amateur  championship  of  1894,  as  the 
record-holder  oi  the  old  links  on  the  Saw  Mill  Road.  One  of  Mr.  Sands's 
most  noted  achievements  was  to  win  out  by  three  successive  victories  the  John 
Reid  Gold  Medal,  representing  the  annual  championship,  at  thirty-six  holes, 
medal  play,  of  the  St.  Andrew's  Golf  Club.  The  last  match  was  on  the  new 
St.  Andrew's  links   at   Chauncey,   on   November   2,    1897,   Mr.   Sands  winning 


David  R.  turgan. 


Findlay  S.  Douglas. 

Winner  of  the    Championship,   l8g8. 


Golf —  the  Men 


63 


with  93,  86,  179.  The  medal  had  been  in  play  each  year  since  1887.  In  the 
semi-finals  at  Shinnecock  Hills,  Mr.  Thorp  beat  Henry  P.  Toler,  of  the  Bal- 
tusrol  Golf  Club,  a  leader  in  his  day  in  Princeton  foot-ball  and  general  athletics, 
and  a  vigorous,  dashing  player,  who  tries  hard  to  be  orthodox,  and  succeeds  in 
being  so  on  the  short  game,  and  who  is  often  very  brilliant  in  his  performances. 
Walter  Fairbanks,  of  Denver,  a  veteran 
Scotch  golfer  resident  here,  has  gained  a 
sterling  reputation  as  a  thorough  golfer 
among  the  amateurs  East  and  West.  Mr. 
Toler,  to  gain  admittance  to  the  semi-finals 
at  Shinnecock  Hills,  had  beaten  H.  G. 
Trevor,  of  the  home  club,  then  the  leading 
lett-handed  player  in  the  country,  an  honor 
now  held  by  A.  M.  Ripley,  of  the  Oakley 
Country  Club.  H.  R.  Sweny,  of  the  Al- 
bany Country  Club,  after  beating  W.  Bay- 
ard Cutting  at  this  tournament,  was  put  out 
by  Whigham  in  the  second  round.  Then 
Mr.  Sweny  was  decidedly  radical  in  his  golf- 
ing opinions  and  a  certain  thick,  potato- 
masher  sort  of  driver  of  his  invention  was 
his  favorite  club.  Since  then  Mr.  Sweny 
has  become  a  conservative.  A.  H.  Fenn, 
a  great  winner  at  tournaments  until  he  be- 
came a  professional  a  year  later,  and  now, 
perhaps,  the  leading  home-bred  professional 
we  have  (for  he  atones  for  any  departure 
from  the  ideal  style  by  a  great  ability  as  a 
coach,  and  by  a  machine-like  expertness  in 

the  different  branches  of  the  game),  was  put  out  in  the  first  round  by  Mr.  Sands. 
Among  the  others  who  qualified  but  who  were  beaten  in  the  first  match-play  round 
were  L.  P.  Bayard,  Jr.,  of  Baltusrol  ;  John  R.  Chadwick,  of  the  Richmond  Coun- 
ty Country  Club,  who,  while  only  of  medium  power  from  the  tee  and  through  the 
green,  is  a  wonderfully  accurate  putter ;  Lawrence  Waterbury,  of  the  Country  Club 
of  Westchester,  who  is  a  crack  polo  player  and  would  be  a  crack  golfer  if  the  pig- 
skin had  not  more  attractions  for  him  than  the  links;  A.  L.  Livermore,  of  St. 
Andrew's,  a  forcible  and  nervy  player  then  at  the  top  of  his  game,  and  Dr.  E. 
C.  Rushmore,  at  that  time  the  leading  golfer  of  the  Tuxedo  Club,  who  has  one 
of  the  most  graceful  swings  and  generally  easy  style  possessed  by  any  of  the  ama- 
teurs who  have  not  studied  on  the  classic  links  abroad. 


Walter  Fair  bank 


64 


Golf  —  the  Men 


Equally  famous  at  that  time  as  any  whom  I  have  mentioned  and  who  are 
still  sterling  good  golfers  were  L.  B.  Stoddart,  of  St.  Andrew's  and  Staten  Island, 
the  amateur  champion  at  St.  Andrew's  in  i  894,  who  learned  the  game  in  England, 

and  who  is  now  a  model  to  imitate  in  the  accom- 
plished handling  of  all  the  iron  clubs  ;  Dr.  Charles 
Claxton,  of  Philadelphia;  F.  H.  Bohlen,  also  of  Phil- 
adelphia, who  brings  to  golf  a  quick  eye  and  a  gen- 
eral training  acquired  on  the  cricket  crease  ;  D.  R. 
Forgan,  who  learned  the  game  at  old  St.  Andrew's 
and  who  is  a  worthy  graduate  of  the  famous  links  ; 
Jasper  Lynch,  of  Lakewood  ;  O.  W.  Bird,  of  Mead- 
owbrook,  who  includes  golf  among  the  several  sports 
which  he  plays  with  enthusiasm  and  ability ;  Win- 
throp  Rutherfurd,  also  a  master  of  many  sports;  and 
Quincy  A.  Shaw,  Jr.,  who  took  part  in  the  amateur 
championship  at  Newport  in  1895,  and  who  has 
steadily  advanced  in  his  game  so  that  now  he  is  one 
of  the  most  formidable  of  antagonists.  He  was  the 
amateur  racquet  champion  of  the  country  and  has 
won  nearly  as  great  fame  in  court-tennis.  Oddly 
enough  he  is  a  left-handed  wielder  of  the  racquet, 
but  Mr.  Shaw  plays  golf  right-handed  and  he  has  a 
wonderful  eye,  a  stirring,  daring  method  that  gives 
distinction  to  his  style. 

In  1897,  among  the  older  class  of  golfers  to 
make  an  impression  on  the  annals  of  the  year,  per- 
haps the  first  place  should  be  awarded  to  "Foxhall 
Keene,  of  the  Oakland  Club,  who  learned  the  game 
during  one  of  his  hunting  trips  to  England,  and  who, 
while  only  using  a  three-quarter  swing,  is  one  of  the 
longest  and  most  accurate  men  we  have  from  the  tee 
and  through  the  green.  He  plays  golf  with  the 
finish  and  devotion  to  what  is  best  in  the  game  that 
has  made  him  so  successful  in  other  sports.  In  this 
class,  too,  are  M.  R.  Wright,  of  the  Philadelphia 
Cricket  Club,  a  particularly  graceful,  all-around  golfer,  who  has  played  much 
at  Cannes,  Pau,  and  Biarritz;  Arden  M.  Robbins,  of  St.  Andrew's,  a  brill- 
iant but  somewhat  erratic  performer;  Devereaux  Emmet,  of  Garden  City,  a 
very  long  driver  and  a  most  zealous  student  of  the  game;  F.  W.  Menzies,  of 
St.  Andrew's,  another   converted  cricketer  ;    Alexander   Morten,  of  the  Country 


J.   G.   Thorp. 


Herbert  M.  Harriman. 
Winner  of  the   Championship,   i8 


/T  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  few  golfers  to  achieve  as  many  successes 
as  Mr.  Harriman  in  the  short  time  he  has  been  playing  the  game. 

In  l8g6  he  failed  to  qualify  in  the  Championship,  but  the  follow- 
ing year  saw  him  well  up  in  the  first  sixteen  and  staying  until  the 
third  round.  Through  a  niisunderstanding,  Mr.  Harriman  s  entry 
was  not  received  in  time  for  the  Championship  at  Moi-ristown  in  i8g8, 
and  he  was  forced  to  act  the  part  of  spectator.  In  the  annals  of  golf 
l8gg  might  be  described  as  "  Harri?naii  s  year  J'  Starting  with  the 
Metropolitan  Championship  at  Garden  City  in  the  spring,  Mr.  Haj-ri- 
man  followed  this  success  up  by  carry i?ig  off  the  National  Championship 
two  jnonths  later  at  Onwentsia,  playing  better  class  golf  all  through 
than  had  as  yet  won  championships.  In  the  Open  Championship  of 
the  same  year  held  at  Baltimore,  Mr.  Harriman  was  the  sole  main- 
stay of  the  amateurs,  finishing  well  up  among  the  professionals  and 
scoring  one  brilliant  round  of  jg.  That  this  biilUant  ivork  was  not 
of  the  "sky-rocket"  order  was  evidenced  by  his  game  this  past  season. 
He  hmig  tenaciously  to  both  his  titles,  givitig  up  that  of  Metropolitan 
Champion  in  the  final  round  by  a  close  margin,  and  playing  right  up 
to  the  semi-finals  of  the  Amateur  Cha??ipionship  in  igoo.  Outside  of 
the  championships,  he  has  won  many  tournaments  in  i-epresentative  fields. 

Mr.  Har?'ima}is  style  is  forcible  and  impresses  one  as  having 
remarkable  poiver  back  of  it.  This  may  account  for  his  brilliant  work 
with  the  irons  ;  indeed,  he  plays  a  sterli?ig  game  all  through,  his  only 
weak  point  being  a  tendency  to  unsteadiness  in  direction  off  the  tee. 
His  putting  is  irreproachable,  anything  under  six  feet  from  ih:  hole 
being  dead. 

Perhaps  the  one  point  in  which  Mr.  Harriman  stands  facile 
princeps  iji  golf  is  his  wonderful  power  of  recovery.  No  matter  the 
kind  of  lie  or  how  great  the  odds,  Harriman  will  usually  be  found 
equal  to  the  occasion.  Of  a  big-hearted  and  genial  disposition,  there 
is  no  better  sportsman  on  or  off  the  golf  links. 


Go/f  —  the  Men 


67 


Club  of  Westchester  ;  A.  DeWitt  Cochrane,  of  St.  Andrew's  and  Ardsley  ;  C. 
A.  Lineaweaver,  of  Philadelphia;  F.  O.  Beach,  of  Meadowbrook ;  G.  D.  Fowle, 
of  Philadelphia;  Hugh  Toler,  of  Baltusrol ;  H.  M.  BiUings,  of  Ardsley;  C.  H. 
Tappin,  of  VVestbrook ;  T.  A.  Havemeyer,  Jr.,  ot  Meadowbrook,  and  two  who 
learned  their  game  at  Newport,  James  A.  Still- 
man,  Jr.,  and  Reginald  Brooks.  The  former 
has  a  bold,  slashing  style  and  nearly  an  ortho- 
dox St.  Andrew's  swing,  while,  quite  to  the 
contrary  extreme.  Brooks  has  only  a  three- 
quarter  swing,  but,  while  not  getting  such  a 
long  ball,  he  atones  tor  this  by  his  marvellous 
accuracy  in  direction.  The  pair  may  point  to 
several  victories  ot  importance,  and  the  latter  in 
1899  won  the  Southern  Cross  championship, 
besides  being  runner-up  in  the  Metropolitan 
championship.  I  believe  that  neither  has  de- 
veloped his  game  to  the  tull  extent.  Both  are 
very  capable  with  the  iron  clubs,  and  Brooks  is 
quite  a  phenomenal  putter. 

It  was  a  surprise  when  W.  Rosseter  Betts, 
then  of  Yale,  proved  to  be  the  runner-up  to  Mr. 
Whigham  in  the  amateur  championship  at  the 
Chicago  Golf  Club.  It  was  a  surprise  ot  the 
same  sort  when  Walter  B.  Smith,  also  ot  Yale, 
a  year  later  finished  next  to  Mr.  Douglas  in  the 
amateur  championship  at  the  Morris  County 
Golf  Club.  Joseph  H.  Choate,  Jr.,  ot  Harvard, 
won  the  gold  medal  in  the  score  round  on  the 
same  occasion.  Mr.  Smith  has  a  very  "  ortho- 
dox "  style  and  drives  perhaps  as  long  a  ball  as 
any  amateur  we  have.  He  and  the  others  in 
the  little  band  of  collegians  who  first  gained 
prominence  in  golf  are  now  out  of  college  and 
striving  for  honors  in  our  national  champion- 
ships. Some  have  since  made  the  round  of  the  links  in  England  and  Scotland,  to 
give  a  finish  to  their  game.  To  complete  the  roster  I  may  name  John  Reid,  Jr., 
and  Roderick  Terry,  Jr.,  of  Yale  ;  J.  F.  Curtis  and  W.  Bayard  Cutting,  Jr.,  of 
Harvard;  and  L.  P.  Bayard,  Jr.,  J.  I.  Blair,  Jr.,  and  W.  D.  Vanderpool,  of  Prince- 
ton, all  of  whom  are  now  in  the  first  flight  of  our  players.  But  it  is  to  the 
players  who  are  still   in   college,  and   even   to   the  school-boys,  that   the  golfing 


C.  B.  Macdonald. 


68 


Golf — the  Men 


world  looks  at  this  time  with  the  most  interest.      This  set   of  golfers   took  up 
the  game  after  it   had   passed  the  experimental  stage  and  become  an  established 
recreation.      They  have  had  better  amateurs   to   cope  with,  or  at  least  more  of 
them,  and  also  the  benefit  of  the  best  professional  coaching.      I  think  the  present 
set  at  the  colleges  is  playing  stronger  golf  as  a  class,  therefore,  than  their  pred- 
ecessors did.      A   proof  of  this   state- 
ment is  the  high  average  of  the  play 
at  the  last  Intercollegiate  tournament, 
held   at    Garden    City   in    the   fall    of 
1899.      The  standard   of  play  was  as 
high  as  had  been  seen  in  a  tournament 
here  to  that  time.      It  is  true  that  the 
links  were  in  exceptional  condition  for 
low  scoring.     The  putting  greens  were 
like  velvet,  and  the  fair  greens  so  fast 
and  glossy  after  the  prolonged  drought 
that  the  golf  balls  rolled  along  like  a 
boy's  marble  over  a  pavement.      Only 
the  successful  negotiation   of  a  stimie 
by   Pyne,  on   the  home  green   in   the 
semi-hnals  with  Hitchcock,  Jr.,  which 
halved  the  hole  in  three,  won  out  the 
title    for    the   Princetonian,   and  some 
of  the  other   matches  were   as  closely 
fought    out.      J.   G.  Averell,   then    of 
Harvard,  had  an  80  in  the  qualifying 
round,  and  J.  A.  Edwards,  Columbia, 
an  8  I .      These  were  record  marks  un- 
til the  amateur  championship  over  the 
same    course    last    July.      The   course 
had    been    extended    to    over    6,100    yards,    yet    the    four    leading    scores    were 
W.  J.  Travis,   85,   81  =166;   R.   C.  Watson,  Jr.,   83,   86=  169;  J.  A.  Still- 
man,   83,    92  =  175;    and    E.  M.   Byers,   87,    89  =  176.      During  the  week 
of  match-play,  Douglas  got  a  78  and  Travis  a  79,  while  the  best  marks  for  the 
outward   holes  were  a   35   for  Travis  and   a   36  by  both  Lockwood  and  myself. 
The   college    set    made    up    over   a    half   of  the   survivors  to  the   third    round, 
when   only   John   Stuart,  Princeton;   C.  Hitchcock,  Jr.,  Yale;   and   Harry  Hol- 
lins,    Jr.,   then   the   Interscholastic   champion,  but   now   of  Harvard,   had   a   life 
left,  as   they  say  at   pool.      Nearly  all   of  the  college  boys  who  qualified  at   the 
amateur  championship  will  be  seen  again  at  the  Intercollegiate  meeting  in  May, 


JVinthrop  Rutherfurd. 


/  ^ 

# 

^d^ 

'■^y^^iiA 

W^' 

''% 

'.:* 

»-*/  ''„'>!l ' 


Findlay  S.  Douglas  at  the  End  of  his  Stroke  on  the  Tee. 


Golj  —  the  Men 


71 


but  whether  the  old  set  will  qualify  again  is  an  open  question.  The  new 
recruits  who  have  been  playing  in  the  school-boy  tournaments  are  very  apt  to 
upset  some  of  the  calculations  of  their  senior  classmen.  Byers  is  now  champion 
of  Yale,  but  the  holders  of  that  title  in  other  instances  are  new  men — Poole,  at 
Princeton;  Hill,  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania;  and  Wheelock,  at  Harvard. 
But  whether  the  new  or  old  set  of  col- 
legians win  out,  it  is  safe  to  wager  that 
the  tournament  will  bring  out  golf  of 
the  highest  class. 

The  present  holder  of  the  Inter- 
collegiate championship,  Percy  Pyne, 
2d,  has  since  been  beaten  by  Abram 
Poole,  Jr.,  for  the  Princeton  cham- 
pionship, but  it  is  by  no  means  certain 
that  Poole  could  repeat  his  success  on 
a  long  course.  Pyne  is  a  slasher  on 
the  long  game,  but,  unlike  most  of 
the  college  boys,  an  uncertain  putter. 
There  is  not  space  enough  in  a  single 
article  to  mention  all  of  the  worthy 
college  golfers,  past  and  present.  Gar- 
diner G.  Hubbard,  of  Harvard,  for 
instance,  has  a  very  charming  style. 
Without  the  least  effort  he  gets  an 
exceptionally  long  ball,  but  this  is  of- 
ten offset  by  a  tendency  to  be  wild  in 
direction.  Still,  I  think  Hubbard  is 
sure  to  become  a  renowned  player 
should  he  keep  up  the  game.  John 
Reid,  Jr.,  who  has  the  credit  of  having 


Gardiner  G.   Hubbard. 


introduced  the  game  at  Yale,  has  a  sterling  good  style,  and  his  trip  abroad  after 
leaving  college  helped  his  game  materially.  A.  G.  Lockwood  only  beat  him  in 
the  amateur  championship  after  forty  holes  had  been  played  ;  in  my  opinion  the 
hard  fight  took  the  edge  off  the  game  the  young  Englishman  had  been  playing. 
J.  F.  Curtis,  late  of  Harvard,  is  one  of  the  best  exponents  of  the  short  game  that 
we  have,  the  result,  I  am  told,  of  early  lessons  from  the  late  Willie  Campbell, 
who  was  so  famous  in  his  handling  of  the  irons.  Joseph  H.  Choate,  Jr.,  W. 
Bayard  Cutting,  Jr.,  I.  Townsend  Burden,  J.  I.  Blair,  Jr.,  and  W.  D.  Vanderpool, 
the  last*  two  old  Princetonians,  all  made  their  mark  at  golf  while  in  college. 
I  have  already  referred  to  the  long  driving  powers  of  Walter  B.  Smith,  formerly 


72 


Golf —  the  Men 


of  Yale,  but  I  think  these  are  now  discounted  by  the  ball  sent  out  by  Hugo  R. 
Johnstone,  another  player  of  the  Chicago  set.  Roderick  Terry,  Jr.,  another  old 
Yalesian,  has  a  commanding  and  most  graceful  style.  C.  Hitchcock,  Jr.,  Yale, 
is  one  of  the  youngest  and  best  of  the  college  set,  with  an  especially  good  nerve 
for  match-play,  and  Vardon,  on  his  trip  to  New  Haven,  spoke  in  praise  of  the 
game  of  L.  G.  Myers  and  T.  Markoe  Robertson.      C.  Tiffany  Richardson,  Har- 


Jasper  Lynch. 


J.  A.  Stillman. 


vard,  who  learned  his  game  at  Shinnecock  Hills,  is  a  good  all-'round  player,  and 
so  is  J.  G.  Averell,  also  of  Harvard,  whom  Pyne  only  beat  on  the  thirty-seventh 
hole  for  the  Intercollegiate  championship.  Averell  beat  Lockwood  in  one  of 
the  Myopia  tournaments  last  season. 

The  school-boys  of  the  present  have  no  excuse  for  not  golfing  well,  for 
they  have  quite  as  many  advantages  to  help  them  on  as  the  youths  in  Great 
Britain.  The  coming  season  will  show  to  what  extent  the  youngsters  have 
profited  by  their  opportunities,  for  those  who  have  been  leaders  in  Interscholastic 
golf  since  its  start  are  this  year  in  the  freshmen  classes  at  college.  Both  the 
present  and  the  former  Interscholastic  champions  are  at  Harvard.  The  title- 
holder  was  Harry  B.  HoUins,  Jr.,  of  Westbrook.  As  far  back  as  1896,  when 
only  fourteen,  he  won  an  open  handicap  at  Meadowbrook,  191-4^  187,  and 
in  the  same  year  the  gold  medal  at  the  Westbrook  open  tournament.  I  regard 
young  HoUins  as  the  equal  of  any  player  of  his   experience  in  the  world.      The 


Golf  —  the  Men 


73 


other  Interscholastic  champion  was  G.  Owen  Winston.      He  is  not  as  tall  nor  as 
strong  as  Hollins,  Jr.,  hut  Winston  has  quite  as  perfect  a  style. 

Among  those  who  are  no  longer  at  college,  yet  might  be  mentioned  in  the 
class,  are  G.  C.  Clark,  Jr.,  of  Shinnecock  Hills,  who  displays  a  well-balanced 
game,  and  four  Westbrook  players  who  are  in  the  first  rank  as  true  golfers  and 
at   tournaments — R.   C.  Watson,  Jr.,  Louis    Livingston,  Jr.,  Lindsley  Tappin, 


Reginald  Brooks. 


A.  M.  Robbins. 


and  W.  L.  Gunther.  They  play  much  alike  in  style  and  all  are  hard  to  beat. 
Three  of  the  older  set  who  are  now  golfing  well  are  C.  M.  Hamilton,  of  Bal- 
tusrol;  W.  H.  Davis,  of  Buffalo;  and  Fred  P.  Kimball,  of  Lakewood,  the  latter 
a  most  accurate  player  of  the  short-swing,  steady-going  sort. 

Howard  A.  Colby,  Wirt  L.  Thompson,  Allan  Kennaday,  Archibald  Gra- 
ham, Jr.,  C.  H.  Murphey,  F.  M.  Mackey,  and  Frank  Croker  are  other  players 
of  promise.  Public  golf  within  the  year  has  become  an  established  recreation, 
to  be  fostered  by  the  park  officers,  and  doubtless  there  are  hundreds  of  fine 
players  whom  I  have  never  seen  at  all. 

To  pass  from  the  players  to  the  caddies  is  an  easy  transition.  Yet  much 
depends  on  a  competent  service  from  the  caddie.  In  an  important  match  I 
sometimes  think  it  is  not  very  desirable  to  have  a  professional  of  renown  to 
caddie  for  you,  for  the  expert  too  often  frames  his  advice  on  what  he  can  do 
and  ignores  your  own  capabilities.      On  this  account  I   think  you   need  a  boy 


74 


Golf  —  the  Men 


A.   M.   Coals. 

This  gives  us  a  good  line  on  what 
to  expect  in  the  future.  In  the 
match-play  all  of  these  played  ex- 
cellent golt  until  they  were  matched 
against  older  players,  and  then  they 
seemed  to  lose  through  lack  of  ex- 
perience and  over-keenness  to  win. 
Strange  to  say,  three  of  the  men 
left  in  the  semi-finals  were  the  same 
as  last  year,  Mr.  Lockwood  taking 
the  place  of  Mr.  Macdonald,  who 
did  not  play.  Mr.  Travis's  win  was 
a  most  fortunate  one  tor  the  game, 
and  he  thoroughly  deserved  it — it 
shows  what  perseverance  and  prac- 
tice, with  study,  will  do.  There 
is  no  one  whose  game  for  the  past 
year  shows  greater  improvement. 
He  has  lengthened  out  his  drive 
thirty  to  forty  yards,  he  has  im- 
proved in  putting,  and  his  short 
game  is  a  marvel.      All  this  he  has 


who  knows  your  clubs  and  does  not  have  to 
he  prompted  as  to  which  one  to  pull  out  of 
the  bag;  in  other  words  he  must  be  inter- 
ested and  understand  the  game.  Some  cad- 
dies have  to  be  told  everything;  others  grasp 
the  idea  as  cleverly  as  it  by  intuition.  Cad- 
dies should  relieve  you  ot  all  the  trivial  wor- 
ries ot  the  game  without  being  told. 

Since  writing  the  foregoing  notes  the 
amateur  and  open  championships  have  both 
taken  place,  and  in  both  the  golf  was  much 
finer  than  in  previous  years.  A  number  who 
qualified  last  year  failed  to  do  so  in  this  year's 
championship,  and  their  places  were  gener- 
ally filled  by  the  younger  set  ot  players.  Ten 
ot  those  who  qualified  this  year  were,  for 
the  most  part,  in  college,  others  had  just 
graduated,  and  some  were  not  yet  in  college. 


H.   J.   W  high  am. 


V 


Golf  —  the  Men 


75 


gained  by  continued  practice  and   unusual  patience.      Personally  I  should  rather 
acquire  Mr.  Douglas's  game,  as  I  think  it  more  perfect  in  style,  easier,  and  more 


y 


Henry  P.   Toler. 


M.  R.   JVright. 


graceful.      If  he   could  only   put   better   he  would   certainly  have  won   the   two 
championship  matches  in  which  he  was  runner-up. 

A.  G.  Lockwood  seemed  to  be  a  dangerous  man  this  year,  and,  after  his 
victory  at  Myopia  and  the  great  game  he  put  up  at  Baltusrol,  he  looked  to  be  a 
winner.  The  nervous  strain  was  too  much  for  him,  however,  and  that  com- 
bined with  the  heat,  which  seemed  to  affect  him,  caused  him  to  collapse.  R.  C. 
Watson,  Jr.,  had  also  been  playing  very  well,  and  finished  second  to  Travis  in 
the  qualifying  round  with  169.  He  met  his  fate  in  the  first  round,  however 
(in  what  might  be  considered  an  unfortunate  draw),  being  beaten  by  Travis. 
On  the  whole  it  seems  as  though  the  older  players  could  still  hold  their  own 
in  important  matches,  but  on  the  average  the  golf  has  greatly  improved  since 
1899. 


y/ju/i/^^ 


^ 


AMATEUR  CHAMPIONSHIP  RECORDS 


Compiled  by  H.  L.   FitzPatrick 

Two  "amateur  championships"  were  announced  for  1894,  in  September, 
at  the  Newport  Country  Ckib,  at  eighteen  holes  medal  play,  in  which  seven  cards 
were  returned,  and  in  October  at  the  St.  Andrew's  Golf  Club,  at  eighteen  holes 
match  play,  twenty-eight  appearing  for  the  first  round.  In  December  the 
United  States  Golf  Association  was  organized,  and  it  has  since  had  control  of 
the  championships,  which  have  been  held  under  the  following  conditions: 

1895.  Newport  Country  Club.  Match  play,  eighteen  hole  rounds,  final  at  thirty- 
six  holes. 

1896.  Shinnecock  Hills  Golf  Club.  Medal  play,  thirty-six  holes,  sixteen  to  qualify 
for  eighteen  hole  match  play  rounds,  with  final  at  thirty-six  holes.  Low  score,  H.  J. 
Whigham,  163  ;   high  score  to  qualify,  180. 

1897.  Chicago  Golf  Chib,  Wheaton.  Same  conditions;  lowest  score,  C.  B.  Mac- 
donald,  174;   high  score  to  qualify,  197. 

1898.  Morris  County  Golf  Club.  Qualifying  and  all  match  play,  rounds  at  thirty- 
six  holes,  with  thirty-two  to  qualify.  Lowest  score,  Joseph  H.  Choate,  Jr.,  175;  high 
score  to  qualify,  189. 

1899.  Onwentsia  Club,  Lake  Forest.  Same  conditions;  lowest  score,  C.  B.  Mac- 
donald,  168  ;   high  score  to  qualify,  187. 

1900.  Garden  City  Golf  Club.  Same  conditions;  lowest  score,  Walter  J.  Travis, 
166  ;   high  score  to  qualify,  187. 

The  championship  trophy  of  the  United  States  Golf  Association  is  a  silver  vase,  the 
gift  of  the  late  Theodore  A.  Havemeyer.  The  winner's  name  is  placed  on  it  and  he 
receives  a  gold  medal ;  the  runner-up  gets  a  silver  medal.  The  third  and  fourth  prizes  are 
bronze  medals.      The  maker  of  the  low  score  in  the  qualifying  round  receives  a  gold  medal. 

The  appended  table  shows  the  subsequent  play  of  all  who  returned  cards  or  were  en- 
tered for  match  play  in  the  meetings  of  1894  and  1895,  ^"'^  ^'s°  ^^^  records  of  all  who 
have  qualified  since  1896,  inclusive.  "  N.  O."  denotes  non-qualification,  the  medal  play 
score  being  added  when  a  card  was  returned. 


Newport, 

St.  Andrews, 

Newport, 

shinnecock 

Whciton, 

Morris  Co., 

Lake  Forest, 

Garden  City, 

1894. 

1894. 

1S95. 

HiUs,  1896. 

1S97. 

1898. 

1899. 

1900. 

G.  E.  Armstrong,  Fox  Hills. . 

R'd  1 

_ 

N.Q.I92 



N. 0.192 

— 

N.Q.2IO 

F.  I.  Amory,  Brookline 

— 

— 

Semi-finals 

N.Q.181 

— 

— 

— 

— 

J.  C.  Averell,  Rochester 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd    2 

C.  Wheeler  Barnes.St,  Andrew's 



R'd  2 

— 

— 

— 

— 



— 

Robert  Bacon,  Brookline 



R'd  1 

.  - 

— 



— 

•-:- 

— 

L.  P.  Bayard,  Jr.,  Baltusrol  .  . 



— 

— 

R'd  I 

— 

R'd  2 

— 

— 

G.  Bement,  Essex 

— 

— 

R'd  2 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

T.  Sterling  Beckwith,  Cleveland 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  I 

R'd  2 

W.  R.  Betts,  Shinnecock  Hills 

-  

— 

— 

N.O.I  S4 

Runner-up 

— 

— 

S.  H.  Bennett,  Brookline  .... 



— 

R'd  I 

— 

— 

— 

0.  W.  Bird,  Meadott-brook.  . 

— 

R'd  2 

R'd  2 

— 

— 

— 

N.O.217 

L.  A.  Biddle,  Philadelphia  .  .  . 



— 

R'd  I 

N.Q.208 

— 

— 

— 

— 

H.  M.  Billings,  Ardsley 



— 

— 

— 

— 

Def.R'd  I 

N.Q.187 

— 

J.  I.  Blair,  Morris  Countv  .  .  . 



— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  I 

N.O.188 

— 

Reginald  Brooks,  Newport  .  .  . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

N.O..94 

— 

R'd  I 

J.  H.  Brooks,  Allegheny   .  .  .  . 



— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  2 

1.  L.  Breese,  Tuxedo 

— 

— 

R'd  I 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

F.  H.  Bohlen,  Philadelphia.  .  . 



— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  2 

^ 

N.Q.191 

E.  McB.  Bvers,  Yale 



— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  2 

Golf —  the  Men 


77 


Newport, 

St.  Andrews, 

Newport, 

Shinnecock 

Whcaton, 

Morris  Co., 

Lake  Forest, 

Garden  City, 

1894. 

1894. 

1895. 

Hills,  1896. 

1897. 

1898. 

1899. 

1900. 

Sheldon  Cary,  Cleveland  .  . 

R'd   I 

W.  C.  Carnegie,  Pittsburg. 

— 



— 

— 

— 

N.Q..97 

R'd  1 

N.Q.  1 89 

Joseph  H.  Choate,  Jr.,  Harva 

rd      — 









R'd  I 



J.  R.  Chad  wick,  Richmond  C 

0.      — 



— 

R'd  I 

R'd  I 

N.Q.195 





Dr.  C.  Claxton,  Philadelphi 

a.       — 



Semi-finals 

N.Q.191 







R.  J.  Clark,  Brookline 





R'd  I 









A.  DeWitt  Cochrane,  Ardsle 

y-    — 









R'd  1 



N.Q.  I  89 

A.  M.  Coats,  Newport..  .  . 





Semi-finals 

R'd  2 

R'd  3 



N.Q.197 

Richard  Crowell,  Cleveland 

.  .         









R'd  1 



W.  B.  Cutting,  Jr.,  Westbro 

ok      — 





R'd  I 

, 

R'd  I 





Laurence  Curtis,  Brookline  . 

.J     221 

R'd  2 

R'd  I 







__ 



Hon.  Win.  Curtis,  England 

— 

R'd  1 

— 











J.  F.  Curtis,  Essex 







N.Q.188 



R'd  I 

R'd  I 

H.  H.  Cumming,  Swannanc 

a.      — 







R'd  I 

N.Q.I9I 

B.   S.   de  Garmendia,   St.  A 

n- 

draw's 

Def.  R'd  I 

N.Q.191 

Findlay  S.  Douglas,  Fairfield 

.  ,        



Semi-finals 

Won 

Runner-up 

Runner-iip 

James  Dwight,  Brookline.  .  . 

246 







— 







W.  E.   Eagan,  Onwehtsia.. 

.  ,       











R'd  I 



Devereaux      Emmet,     Gard 

en 

City 

N.Q.19. 

R'd  I 

/^ 

W.  Fairbanks,  Denver  .... 







II 

R'd  2 

z 

Arthur  H.  Fenn,  Palmetto  . 







R'd  I 

R'd  2 







D.  R.  Forgan,  Chicago  .  .  . 









R'd  I 



R'd  2 



G.  D.  Fowle,  Philadelphia. 





— 





R'd  2 





J.  F.  Gray,  Shinnecock  Hills 

— 

R'd  I 

— 



— 







R.  E.  Griscom,  Merion.  .  . 











R'd  I 





C.  S.  Hanks,  Essex 



R'd  2 



— 

— 

— 

H.    M.    Harriman,   Meado\ 

N- 

brook 

N.Q.I94 

R'd  2 

Won 

Semi-finals 

M.  J.  Henry,  Brookline.  .  . 





R'd  2 



ii-j^ij.ix    im.nitj 

D.  Henderson,  St.  Andrew' 

S.          

R'd  3 





— 







C.  Hitchcock,  Jr.,  Point  Judi 

th         — 













R'd  3 

H.  B.  Hollins,  Jr.,  Westbro 

ok       — 

, 











R'd  3 

W.  Holabird,  Jr.,  Glen  view 









— 



R'd  2 



Gould  Hoyt,  Tuxedo 





Def.  R'd  I 

. 





, 

. 

W.  E.  Hodgman,  St.  Andrew 

's      

R'd  3 



. . 

— 







F.  L.  V.  Hoppin,  St.  Andrew 

's       — 

R'd  2 



N.S.185 

— 







George  Hunter,  Richmond  C 

0.         

R'd  2 

. 

— 







G.  G.  Hubbard,  Oakley  .  . 

— 

— 





— 

R'd  I 

R'd  3 

R'd  I 

T.  C.  Jenkinson,  Baltimore 









— 





R'd  1 

Allan  Kennadav,  Montclair. 















R'd  I 

E.  C.  Kent,  Tuxedo 



R'd  I 





— 







Wm.  Kent,  Tuxedo 





R'd  I 











Foxhall  P.  Keene,  Oakland. 





— 



N.Q.  1 99 

R'd  3 





R.  Bage  Kerr,  Lakewood  .  . 





R'd  I 

N.Q.I  88 







H.  T.  Kneeland,  Buffalo  .  . 















R'd  I 

Wm.  Lawrence,  Newport  . 

.  188(1) 

Semi-finals 

. 



— 







Herbert  C.  Leeds,  Myopia. 

.       21  7 

— . 



N.O.181 

— 

N.Q.I9? 



N.Q.188 

A.  L.  Livermore,  St.  Andrew 

R'd  3 

R'd  2 

R"^d  I 

— 





C.  P.  Lineaweaver,  Philadelph 

ia      H 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  I 

R'd  2 

N.Q.  19 1 

L.  Livingston,  Jr.,  Westbroo 

k.      — 

— 

. 

— 

— 



— 

R'd  I 

A.  G.  Lockwood,  Allston.  . 









— 





Semi-finals 

P.  Lorillard,  Jr. ,  Tuxedo  .  . 



R'd  I 











— 

Jasper  Lynch,  Lakewood.  .  . 







N.Q.I  87 

— 

R'd  2 

R'd  I 

N.Q 

Henry  May,  Washington  ,  . 



R'd  1 

— 

N.Q. 

— 

— 

— 

— 

C.  B.  Macdonald,  Chicago 

•  '89(2) 

Runner-up 

Won 

R'd  I 

Semi-finals 

Semi-finals 

Semi-finals 

— 

Herbert  McBride,  Cleveland 











R'd  I 



W.M.McCawley,Philadelph 

ia      — 





N.Q.192 

— 

— 

R'd  I 

R'd  2 

F.  W.  Menzies,  St.  Andrew' 

i.       — 

— 

— 

N.Q.  180 

— 

R'd  I 

— 

— 

7S 


Co/f  —  the  Men 


Newport, 

St.  Andrews, 

Newport, 

Shinnecock 

W beaten. 

Morris  Co., 

Lake  Forest, 

Garden  City, 

1894. 

1894. 

1S95. 

Hills,  1896. 

1897. 

1898. 

1899. 

1900. 

John  Moorhead,  Jr.,  Pittsburg. 

_ 

R'd  I 

N.Q.I95 



_ 

N.Q. 

N.Q.  209 

A.  Morten,  Westchester  Co.  . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  2 

N.Q.193 

N.Q. 

A.  L.  Norris,  Dyker  Meadow. 

^  — 

— 

— 





— 

N.Q. 188 

R'd  I 

James  Park,  Richmond  County. 

— 

— 

R'd  2 

N.Q.  189 

— 

— 



— 

Richard  Peters,  Newport  .... 

— 

— 

R'd  1 

N.Q.180 

— 

— 

N.Q. 

Percy  Pvne,  zd,  Princeton  .  .  . 



— 

— 

— 

— 

N. 0.180 

— 

R'd  1 

R.  A.  Rainev,  Cleveland  .... 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  I 

Rev.  W.  S.  Rainstbrd,  St.  An- 

drew's   

— 

— 

R'd  3 

— 

— 

— 

— 

John  Reid,  Jr.,  St.  Andrew's  . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  1 

R'd  2 

R'd  3 

R'd  3 

John  Reid,  St.  Andrew's  .... 

R'd  3 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

C.  T.   Richardson,  Shinnecock 

Hills    



— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  I 

G.  T.   Rice,  Brookline 

— 

— 

Def.  R'd  I 

— 

— 

N.Q.195 

— 

— 

A.  Rogers,  Shinnecock  Hills.  . 



Semi-finals 

R'd  3 

N.Q.193 

— 

— 

— 

— 

T.  M.  Robertson,  Yale 

— 

— 

N.y.  187 

N.Q.ige 

— 

R'd  2 

R.  H.  Robertson,  St.  Andrew's 

— 

R'd  I 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R.   Robertson,  Staten  Island  .  . 

— 

R'd  1 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

ArdenM.  Robbing, St.  Andrew's 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  2 

R'd  I 

W.  Rutherfard,  Meadowbrook 

— 

— 

R'd  3 

N.O.I  82 

— 

N.O. 

— 

— 

Dr.  E.  C.  Rushmore,  Tuxedo. 

— 

R'd  I 

R'd  I 

R^^d  1 

— 

R'd'i 

— 

— 

C.  E.  Sands,  St.  Andrew's  .  . 

— 

— 

Runner-up 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

W.  H.  Sands,  St.  Andrew's  . 



— 

R'd  2 

R'd  2 

— 

R'd  1 

— 

— 

G.  McC.  Sargeant,  Essex..  .  . 

201 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

C.  H.  Seeley,  Wee  Burn 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  I 

Alfred  Seton,  Jr.,  Tuxedo  .  .  . 



R'd  I 

R'd  ? 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Ouincy  A.  Shaw,  Myopia  .  .  . 

— 

— 

R'd  1 

N.  0.182 

— 

N.Q.  190 

— 

R'd  2 

W.  Breeze  Smith,  Tuxedo.  .  . 

— 

R'd  I 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Walter  B.  Smith,  Onwentsia.  . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

N. 0.198 

Runner-up 

R'd  2 

A.  H.  Smith,  Huntingdon  Val- 

ley   

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  2 

R'd  1 

N.Q.,9. 

Harold  C.  Smith,  Onwentsia  . 

— 

- — 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  1 

Victor  Sorchan,  Newport  .... 

— 

— 

R'd  1 

— 

— 

N.Q.204 

— 

— 

L.  B.  Stoddart,  St.  Andrew's. 

— 

Won 

R'd  2 

N. 0.180 

— 

— 

— 

— 

W.  Girdwood  Stewart,  Scotland 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  2 

— 

— 

— 

J.  A.  Stillman,  Jr. ,  Meadowbrook 

— 

— 

— 

N.0.200 

R'd  I 

R'd  3 

— 

R'd  1 

John  Stuart,  Princeton 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  1 

R'd  3 

Stewart  Stickney,  St.  Louis   .  . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  1 

R'd  I 

R.  Sykes,  Denver 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

N.Q. 201 

R'd  1 

— 

H.   R.  Sweny,  Albany 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  2 

R'd  I 

'"^ 

^ 

— 

Roderick  Terry,  Jr.,  Ardsley  . 

— 

— 

— 

N.Q.196 

— 

— 

R'd  2 

— 

Slason  Thompson,  Onwentsia . 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

N.Q.Z19 

R'd  1 

— 

J.  G.  Thorp,  Oakley 

— 

— 

— 

Runner-up 

N.Q.203 

R'd  2 

R'd  3 

N.Q.187 

Gilman  P.  Tiffany,  Powelton . 





— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  I 

H.  P.  Toler,  Baltusrol 

— 



— 

Semi-finals 

— 

R'd  I 

R'd  3 

— 

H.  K.  Toler,  Baltusrol    

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R'd  1 

— 

— 

H.  G.  Trevor,  Shinnecock  Hills 

— 

— 

R'd  I 

R'd  2 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Walter  j.  Travis,  Garden  City 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Semi-finals 

Semi-finals 

Won 

.  A.  Tyng,  Morris  County .  . 

— 



— 

R'd  2 

R'd  1 

R'd  2 

R'd  2 

R'd  2 

.  B.  Upham,  St.  Andrew's.  . 

— 

R'd  2 

— 

N.Q.  198 

— 

— 

— 

— 

E.  Van  Cortlandt,  Tuxedo .  .  . 

R'd  I 

— 

— 

'  — 

— 

— 

— 

O.  Van  Cortlandt,  Tuxedo  .  . 

— 

R'd  1 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

W.  W.  Watson,  Canada  .... 

214 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

R.  C.  Watson,  Jr.,  Westbrook 

— 

— 

— 

N.O. 210 

— 

R'd  I 

Wm.  Waller,  Onwentsia  .... 



— 

— 

— 

N. 0.203 

N. 0.198 

R'd  1 

N.O.  198 

L.  Waterbury,  Westchester  Co. 



— 

— 

R'd  I 

— 

— 

— 

— 

H.  |.  Whigham,  Onwentsia,  . 



— 

— 

Won 

Won 

N.Q.194 

— 

— 

G.  S.  Willetts,  Chicago 



— 

— 

— 

R'd  1 

— 

— 

— 

M.  R.  Wright,  Philadelphia  . . 

— 

— 

R'd  I 

~ 

N.Q.192 

Golf — the  Men  yg 


STARTED  IN  QUALIFYING  ROUNDS, 

WITH  SCORES   WHEN  RETURNED 


1896. — G.  Atterbury,  Shinnecock  Hills,  213;  James  Brown,  St.  Andrew's,  206  ; 
Charles  S.  Brown,  Shinnecock  Hills,  195;  Charles  Bohlen,  Philadelphia,  i  87  ;  F.  O.  Beach, 
Meadowbrook ;  G.  C.  Clark,  Jr.,  Shinnecock  Hills,  189;  W.  H.  Crittenden,  Dyker 
Meadow,  195;  W.  B.  Crittenden,  Dyker  Meadow,  205;  H.  D.  Chapin,  Brookline,  216; 
Peter  Fletcher,  St.  Andrew's;  T.  B.  Gannett,  Jr.,  Essex,  180;  H.  F.  Godfrey,  Shinnecock 
Hills,  206;  R.  P.  Huntingdon,  Staatsburg,  203  ;  O.  Hockmeyer,  Harbor  Hill,  190;  Dr. 
Paul  T.  Kimball,  Lakewood,  187;  John  M.  Knapp,  Westbrook,  191;  Grenville  Kane, 
Tuxedo,  216;  L.  E.  Larocque,  Shinnecock  Hills,  202;  D.  iVi.  Little,  Cambridge,  202; 
J.  H.  Merritt,  Dyker  Meadow,  204;  C.  A.  Murphy,  Baltimore,  221;  Henry  May, 
Washington;  C.  T.  Newhall,  Philadelphia,  184;  G.  E.  Perkins,  Baltusrol,  201;  A.  L. 
Ripley,  Brookline,  182;  C.  T.  Stout,  Richmond  County,  186;  Wm.  Shippen,  Morris 
County,  193  ;  R.  B.  Stone,  Essex,  209;  J.  F.  Talmage,  Dyker  Meadow;  C.  L.  Tappin, 
Westbrook,  182  ;  Henry  W.  Taft,  St.  Andrew's,  190;  Lindsley  Tappin,  Westbrook,  193  ; 
Beverley  Ward,  Jr.,  Baltusrol,  202  ;  J.  A.  Weekes,  Jr.,  Nassau  County,  198  ;  H.  R.  Win- 
throp,  Jr.,  Newport. 

1897. — S.  D.  Bowers,  Otsego,  199;  E.  L  Frost,  Chicago,  204;  V.  Shaw  Kennedy, 
Onwentsia,  204;   Howard  Morris,  Chicago,  201  ;   Sol.  A.  Smith,  Onwentsia,  200. 

1898.— B.  C.  Allen,  Philadelphia,  197  ;  C.  D.  Barnes,  Shinnecock  Hills,  202  ;  J.  B. 
Baker,  St.  Andrew's,  191  ;  Maturin  Ballou,  Apawamis,  200;  F.  O.  Beach,  Meadowbrook, 
195;  F.  W.  Bacon,  Jr.,  Morris  County;  John  B.  Bowman,  Rochester;  G.  C.  Clark,  Jr., 
Shinnecock  Hills,  190;  D.  Chauncey,  Dyker  Meadow,  192  ;  W.  B.  Cheney,  Orford,  202  ; 
E.  R.  Driver,  Riverside,  193;  F.  L.  Denny,  Washington,  213;  W.  B.  Dinsmore,  Jr., 
Tuxedo,  194;  Sherman  Day,  Shinnecock  Hills,  214;  Howard  Elting,  St.  Louis,  208  ;  E. 
L  Frost,  Chicago,  211  ;  H.  M.  Forest,  Philadelphia,  210;  R.  D.  Graham,  North  Jersey, 
209;  Patrick  Grant,  Palmetto,  199;  A.  Z.  Huntington,  Scranton,  196;  H.  Holbrook,  Jr., 
St.  Andrew's,  195;  O.  Hockmeyer,  Harbor  Hill,  196;  B.  S.  Home,  Pittsburg;  Jarvis 
Hunt,  Onwentsia;  A.  G.  Jennings,  Tuxedo,  208;  Grenville  Kane,  Tuxedo,  196;  E. 
Leavitt,  Fairfield,  202  ;  M.  M.  Michael,  Yountakah,  191  ;  J.  J.  Manning,  Seabright,  208  ; 
J.  N.  Manning,  Denver,  195;  W.  Y.  Marsh,  Morris  County;  Clarence  Moore,  Chevy 
Chase;  DeLancey  Nicoll,  Ardsley,  200  ;  O.  McCammon,  Washington  ;  Dr.  B.  O'Connor, 
Staten  Island,  209  ;  C.  L.  Perkins,  Rockaway,  197  ;  J.  F.  Palmer,  Riverside;  A.  W.  Post, 
Morris  County,  200;  A.  L.  Ripley,  Brookline,  198;  T.  T.  Reid,  Montclair,  205;  J.  C. 
Rennard,  Tuxedo,  197  ;  H.  W.  Slocum,  Baltusrol,  219  ;  W.  P.  Smith,  Huntingdon  Valley, 
190;  C.  T.  Stout,  Richmond  County,  195  ;  John  Sippola,  Milwaukee,  193  ;  O.  D.  Thomp- 
son, Allegheny,  201  ;  C.  L.  Tappin,  Westbrook,  197;  W.  R.  Thurston,  Morris  County, 
196;  R.  Talbot,  Tuxedo,  192;  W.  P.  Thompson,  C.  B.  Van  Brunt,  Crescent  A.  C,  217; 
W.  D.  Vanderpool,  Morris  County,  189;  J.  B.  Winsor,  Jr.,  Philadelphia,  191;  G.  E. 
Watson,  Westbrook,  191  ;   F.  L.  Woodward,  Denver,  203. 

1899. — W.  A.  Alexander,  Exmoor,  192  ;  H.  K.  Allen,  Riverside,  198  ;  K.  L.  Ames, 
Exmoor;  L.  T.  Boyd,  Milwaukee,  190;  C.  A.  Barnard,  Rock  Island  Arsenal,  199;  C.  W. 
Burr,  Rock  Island  Arsenal,  203  ;  Mark  C.  Cummings,  Washington  Park,  192;  Ralph 
Crackaell,  Oakley,  193;  C.  B.  Cory,  Wallaston,  201;  D.  M.  Cummings,  VVashington 
Park,  203;  J.  D.  Cody,  Rock  Island  Arsenal,  222;  F.  L.  Denny,  Washington,  218;  E. 
R.  Driver,  Riverside;   Howard   Elting,  St.  Louis,  202;   F.  D.  Frazer,   Glenview,  205;   E. 


8o  Golf  —  the  Men 


I.  Frost,  Chicago,  205;  G.  F.  Fiske,  Onwentsia,  209;  E.  C.  Green,  Onwentsia  ;  H.  E. 
Havemeyer,  Knollwood,  210;  J.  D.  Hubbard,  Onwentsia,  208;  B.  S.  Home,  Pittsburg, 
198;  Phelps  B.  Hoyt,  Glenview,  197;  Fred  R.  Hamlin,  Chicago,  192;  J.  P.  Kellogg, 
Seabright,  190;  W.  B.  Kirk,  Onwentsia,  195;  Grenville  Kane,  Tuxedo,  196;  J.  M.  Kirk, 
Glenview,  208;  E.  F.  McGlachlin,  Dyker  Meadow,  190;  Clarence  Moore,  Washington, 
194;  F.  C.  Miller,  Glenview,  196  ;  Walter  McKittrick,  St.  Louis,  203  ;  G.  A.  McKinlock, 
Onwentsia,  205  ;  D.  H.  McAlpin,  Mt.  Pleasant  Field,  226  ;  J.  J.  McCloskey,  Swannanoa ; 
W.  J.  Osborne,  Glenview,  205  ;  Dr.  B.  O'Connor,  Staten  Island  ;  Ralph  Poole,  Onwentsia; 
W.  F.  Pillsbury,  Onwentsia,  195  ;  W.  J.  Patton,  Allegheny,  208  ;  Allan  Reid,  Cincinnati ; 
G.  H.  Russell,  Milwaukee,  195  ;  H.  R.  Rhea,  Onwentsia ;  H.  H.  Shearson,  Chicago  ;  Albert 
Shaller,  Sinnissippi  ;  J.  M.  Sellers,  Glenview  ;  Thomas  Taylor,  Jr.,  Onwentsia,  193  ;  O.  D. 
Thompson,  Allegheny,  195;  P.  K.  Tyng,  Buffalo,  207;  W.  D.  Vanderpool,  Morris 
County,  189;  T.  T.  Watson,  Exmoor,  226;  R.  G.  Watson,  Jr.,  Onwentsia,  200;  J.  W. 
Watson,  Exmoor,  205  ;  W.  D.  Young,  Baltimore,  206  ;  Roy  S.  York,  Cleveland,  213. 

1900. — G.  B.  Adams,  Crescent  A.  C. ;  K.  Avery,  Detroit,  225  ;  J.  H.  Avery,  Detroit, 
230 ;  F.  O.  Beach,  Meadowbrook ;  I.  Townsend  Burden,  Jr.,  Newport ;  M.  Ballou,  Apa- 
wamis,  205;  D.  Chauncey,  Dyker  Meadow,  191;  G.  Campbell,  Baltusrol,  191;  J.  P. 
Cheney,  Orford,  193  ;  C.  B.  Cory,  WoUaston,  198  ;  J.  Chadwick,  Jr.,  Powelton,  200;  E. 
A.  Darby,  Atlantic  City,  211  ;  W.  H.  Davis,  Lakewood ;  A.  T.  Dwight,  Dyker  Meadow; 
F.  L.  Denny,  Washington  ;  Clayton  Dixon,  Jr.,  Columbia  ;  D.  B.  Fuller,  Garden  City, 
191;  R.  R.  Freeman,  Boston,  215;  A.  Graham,  North  Jersey,  190;  W.  L.  Glenney, 
Hillside,  192;  O.  Hockmeyer,  Harbor  Hill,  200;  F.  C.  Havemeyer,  Newport,  189;  J. 
D.  Hooper,  Fairfield,  XQI  :  B.  S.  Home,  Pittsburg,  194;  Dr.  L.  L.  Harban,  Washing- 
ton, 195;  F.  Ingalls,  Cincinnati;  J.  S.  Jones,  Crescent  A.  C,  224;  Hugo  R.  Johnstone, 
Chicago,  189;  Grenville  Kane,  Tuxedo,  213  ;  N.  Longworth,  Cincinnati,  200;  J.  S.  Line- 
aweaver,  Philadelphia,  202  ;  G.  C.  Lafferty,  Washington,  203  ;  E.  F.  McGlachlin,  Dyker 
Meadow  ;  S.  Maddock,  Crescent  A.  C,  189  ;  M.  M.  Michael,  Yountakah,  197  ;  Dr.  C.  W. 
O'Connor,  Essex  (Orange),  190  ;  Archie  Reid,  St.  Andrew's,  203  ;  R.  Russell,  Detroit,  216  ; 
C.  M.  Ransom,  Buffalo,  189;  A.  Shaller,  Sinnissippi;  D.  Sully,  Providence,  211  ;  M.  M. 
Singer,  Fox  Hills;  W.  Poulteney  Smith,  Huntingdon  Valley,  189;  O.  D.  Thompson, 
Pittsburgh,  197;  W.  L.  Thompson,  Baltusrol;  W.  Wadsworth,  Hillside,  199;  G.  O. 
Winston,  Westchester  Golf,  202;  Dr.  J.  A.  Wells,  Englewood,  216;  B.  S.  Warren, 
Detroit,  190. 


COURT-TENNIS,  RAC- 
QUETS, HAND-FIVES 
&  SQUASH-TENNIS 

EUSTACE  H.  MILES 

Winner  of  the  Gold  Prize  at  Cambridge,  1 897-' 98-' 99,  and 
Amateur  Champion  of  England  and  the  United  States  at  Court- 
Tennis,  and  of  the  United  States  and  of  Canada  at  Racquets  and 
Squash-Tennis. 

T.  SUFFERN  TAKER 
GEO.  RICHMOND  FEARING,  Jr. 

Winner  of  the  National  Championship  for  Court-Tennis,  J 897 

LAWRENCE  M.  STOCKTON 

Winner  of  the  National  Championship  for  Court-Tennis 
1896-1898-1899 

MOLLIS  H.  HUNNEWELL,  Jr. 

Winner  of  the  Club  Championship  for  Racquets,  B.A.A.,  1897 

EDWARD  LA  MONTAGNE 


\\A\»^^^|i^ 


From  the  Statue  by  Fitzgerald  Peploe. 


COURT-TENNIS,  RAC- 
Q_UETS,  HAND-FIVES, 
AND   SQUASH-TENNIS 


BY  EUSTACE  H.    MILES 


HE  various  authors  of  the  Badminton  Library  volume  on  Tennis 
and  other  Ball-games  did  not  foresee  that  these  games  would  take 
deep  root  in  America.  But  they  have  taken  deep  root,  and  are 
flourishing  and  spreading  continually.  The  end  of  1899  and  the 
beginning  of  1900  witnessed  a  unique  series  of  International  and 
Exhibition  Matches  in  this  country,  and  now  Courts  and  players 
are  multiplying  rapidly,  the  interest  is  growing,  and  the  standard  of  play  is  rising. 
It  will  be  interesting  to  all  lovers  of  sport  to  know  who  have  been  responsible 
for  this  excellent  result,  and  what  are  the  chief  features  and  merits  of  these  Ball- 
games,  and  who  are  the  best  players  in  America  at  the  present  time. 

Racquets  came  from  England — we  trace  it  back  no  farther — to  Montreal 
in  Canada,  about  a  century  ago,  and  from  Canada  the  game  entered  the  United 
States.  Court-Tennis  came  from  France  to  England,  and  from  England,  to  the 
United  States :  it  has  not  yet  reached  Canada,  but  probably  it  will  very  soon. 
Squash  and  Fives  also  came  direct  from  England. 

It  was  Mr.  La  Montagne  who  brought  Racquets  from  Canada  to  New 
York,  and  he  might  be  called  the  father  of  Racquets  in  the  United  States.  Bos- 
ton and  Chicago  also  have  their  Courts  and  their  good  professional  teachers,  Pettitt 
and  Boakes.  Court-Tennis  had  its  first  home  not  in  New  York,  but  in  Boston, 
in  which  city  Mr.  Hunnewell  introduced  the  game,  and  Pettitt  taught  it  with 
simply  astonishing  keenness  and  success.  New  York  has  its  Court,  with  Alfred 
Tompkins  as  marker  and  indefatigable  teacher.  Besides  Newport  and  Chicago, 
Tuxedo  can  now  boast  of  its  Court — probably  the  finest  in  the  whole  world ; 
and  within  a  year  the  list  will  have  to  be  considerably  enlarged  :  it  already 
includes,  for  example,  the  private  Court  of  Mr.  George  Gould. 

The  above  Clubs  have  Squash-Courts  as  well  ;  but  it  will  not  be  long  before 
the  Squash-Courts  attached  to  private  houses.  Schools  and  Universities  will  easily 
outnumber  the  Club-Courts.  Mr.  Hunnewell's  Squash-Court  at  Wellesley 
seems  to  have  been  the  first  in  this  country. 

Now  what  is  it  that  makes  these  games  so  popular  in  America  ?     They  are 


8^    Court-  Tennis^    I(ac(juets^   Hand-  Fives  ^   and  Squash -Tennis 


not   played   in   the  open  air,  and   they  are  somewhat   expensive  ; 
what   are   their   great   merits  ?      What    is    there    in    them   which 
makes  it  certain  that  the  heads  ot  the  various  American  Univer- 
sities  and   Schools  will   introduce   them    betore    long    into 
the  regular  course  ot  School  and  University  Athletics,  and 
then   Inter-School   and    Inter-University   Athletics,   till    at 
last  America  produces   its  World's  Amateur  Champion  ? 

America   is  a   land   ot   energetic  brain-working  com- 
petitive men,  and  a  land  of  severe  weather,  of  frost,  snow, 
and  rain.     It  is  also  a  land  of  wealth.     The  brain-workers 
crave  for   relaxation,  and   they  crave   tor   relaxation   of  an 
energetic  kind;   this,  tor  a  great  part  ot  the  year,  they  can 
not   obtain   out   of  doors.      Hence  they  seek  indoor  exer- 
cise, and  they  prefer  it  in  its  most   exciting   form,  in  the 
form  of  rapid   competition.      Lastly,  being   rich,  they  can 
afford    the    very    best    of  indoor   games  —  viz.,   Racquets, 
Court -Tennis,  and  Squash.      It  has  been  very,  very  sad  to 
see  the  decay  of  Racquets  in  England,  and  at 
Oxtord  and  Cambridge   in   particular,  on  ac- 
count ot  nothing  else  but  the  expense. 

There  is  yet  another  reason  why 
these  games  appeal  to  Americans :  they 
not    only    give    the    mind    a    complete 

change  from  business,  but  they  also  allow  it  to  exercise  itself 
and  to  be  original.  In  these  games  there  is  great  scope  for 
originality,  as  Tom  Pettitt  has  often  proved  to  the  cost  of  his 
old-tashioned  opponents.  As  in  Lawn-Tennis  in  190D,  so 
in  Court-Tennis,  there  is  plenty  of  room  for  a  new  idea:  and 
there  is  no  earthly  objection  to  this  new  idea  being  put  in 
practice  and  being  successful,  so  long  as  it  is  fair. 

It  we  add  that  these  games  are  splendid  exercise  tor 
most  ot  the  muscles  of  the  body,  that  they  give  -a  good 
sweat,  that  they  improve  the  general  health  and  the  appe- 
tite, and  that  they  enable  friends  to  meet  in  a  very  pleasant 
way,  and  that  so  they  fall  in  with  the  American  social  in- 
stinct, we  shall  cease  to  be  surprised  at  their  otherwise  in- 
credible growth  ;  and  we  shall  see  before  them  a  wonderful 
future  of  assured  and  increasing  popularity  and  success.  They 
are  perfectly  adapted  to  modern  conditions  in  the  United 
^incy  A.  Shaw,  Jr.     States  and  Canada. 


P/iilip  S.  Sears. 


Court -Tennis,   Racquets,   Hand- Fives,   and  Squash -Tennis  8^ 


So    tar   no    mention   has    been    made    of   Fives,    a   game 

which   is  sometimes    known    as    Hand-Fives  :   this    game   has 

most  ot  the  good  features   of  Squash,  and  also   gives   exercise 

to  the  left   hand   and  arm   as  well  as  to  the  right.      Though 

there  are  hundreds  of  Courts  in  England,  especially 

at    the    great    Schools    and    Universities,   there  are 

comparatively  few   in  the  Schools  and  Universities 

of  America.      But  there  will   be   more   every  year, 

for  already  certain  Schools  (such  as  Groton  and  St. 

Mark's)  have  taken   to  the  game  very  keenly.      Fives  is 

the  game  which  of  all  others  is  nearest  to  Boxing. 

Leaving   Fives  on   one  side,  and  coming  to  a  brief  de- 
scription  of  the   three   other   games,  we   may  say   that   their 
main   principle  is  that  a  racket  shall  hit  a  ball   above  a  cer- 
tain  line,   and   within   certain    limits   (especially   of  height), 
before   that   ball   has  bounced   twice;    that   the    player    who 
shall   hit   the   ball   too   low   or   too  high    or  after   its  second 
bounce  shall  lose  the  stroke,  and  that  one  of 
the  objects  of  the  player  is  to  hit  the  ball 
4^^*^   AB@^         just  above  the  line,  and  out  of  the  reach 
^^*  of  his  opponent. 

Austin  Potter.  How  do  the  three  games  differ 

from  one  another  ? 
Squash  might  be  called  Baby-Racquets,  though  this  is 
not  quite  accurate.  It  is  true  that  the  Squash-Court  is  very 
like  a  baby  Racquet-Court,  and  that  in  both  games  the  ball 
has  to  be  hit  above  a  tell-tale  board  on  the  front  wall.  But 
Squash  is  played  with  a  soft  ball,  usually  very  much  larger 
than  a  Racquet  ball  (which  just  fits  into  the  eye  !  )  ;  and 
Squash  has  several  sets  of  rules.  In  fact,  it  is  possible  to  play 
Squash  with  Lawn-Tennis  rackets  and  Lawn-Tennis  balls 
and  Lawn-Tennis  scoring.  But  Squash  and  Racquets  differ 
radically  from  Lawn-Tennis  in  having  side-walls  and  a  back- 
wall  against  which  the  ball  may  be  hit;  these  walls,  with 
the  various  angles  which  they  give  to  the  course  of  the  ball, 
and  the  extra  chance  which  they  allow  to  the  player  of 
getting  up  a  ball  which  has  passed  him,  are  among  the  chief 
fascinations    of  the   game.      We    may    note    that    at   Squash, 

■A 

which  is  played  a  good  deal   by  ladies,  it  is  easier  to   reach 

the  standard  at  which  one  enjoys  the  game  than  at  Racquets,  Payne  kPliitney. 


86    Court-  Tennis^   Racquets  ^   Hand- Fives  ^   and  Squash -Tennis 


which  has  more   ground   to   be   covered.      Besides  this,  Squash  is   decidedly  the 
best  preparation  for  Racquets  and  Court-Tennis. 

Squash  can  reckon  some  very  well-known  Americans  among  its  players  and 
patrons  ;  many  of  these  have  Courts  of  their  own.  Mr.  George  Richmond 
Fearing,  Jr.,  would  probably  be  accounted  the  champion  player,  owing  to  his 
great  reach  and  activity.      After  him  might  come  Messrs.  J.  S.  Tooker,  H.  H. 

Hunnewell,  J.  Prentice,  and  T.  S.  Tailer.  Then 
would  follow  a  larger  class,  including  Messrs. 
Milton  Barger,  O.  W.  Bird,  Charles  Bohlen  (of 
Philadelphia),  R.  Brooks,  H.  M.  Harriman, 
T.  Hitchcock,  and  one  or  two  others. 

It  is  at  present  very  hard  to  classify  the 
leading  players,  since  there  has  as  yet  been  no 
championship  with  large  entries,  and  the  same 
players  differ  greatly  from  day  to  day,  according 
to  their  state  of  training  and  other  conditions. 
The  first  championship  was  held  at  Tuxedo  in 
June,  1 900  ;  but  several  of  the  leading  players 
of  America  were  prevented  from  coming,  by 
pressure  of  business.  Among  older  players  and 
patrons  might  be  mentioned  Mr.  Hunnewell, 
Mr.  Travers,  and  Mr.  Hitchcock,  the  two  lat- 
ter having  Courts  of  their  own  at  Aiken.  Nothing  would  better  illustrate 
the  growth  of  the  game  than  a  full  list  of  other  owners  of  Squash-Courts ; 
but  here  we  must  be  content  to  quote  the  first  names  that  come  to  mind — 
Mr.  August  Belmont,  Mr.  H.  M.  Harriman,  Mr.  W.  L.  Stowe,  Mr.  W.  C. 
Whitney — these  four  names  are  from  a  single  locality — Mr.  Henry  W.  Poor, 
Mr.  James  L.  Breese,  and  Mr.  Augustus  P.  Gardner. 

The  game  has  such  popularity,  not  only  because  it  is  simple  and — up  to  a 
certain  point — easy,  because  ladies  and  boys  as  well  as  elderly  men  can  play  it 
and  enjoy  it,  and  because  it  is  healthy,  but  also  because  it  does  not  take  up  a 
large  piece  of  ground  nor  need  a  long  time,  and  because  it  can  be  played  by 
electric  light  after  business-hours  are  over.  Hence  the  game  can  already  count 
its  devotees  by  hundreds,  and  will  soon  count  them  by  thousands,  as  it  already 
does  in  England.      The  growth  in  interest  in  i  900  warrants  this  belief. 

It  is  chiefly  because  of  early  practice  in  Fives  (Hand-Fives)  and  Squash 
that  the  English  people  have  hitherto  so  often  been  successful  at  Tennis  and 
Racquets. 

From  Squash  we  pass  on  to  the  more  expensive  and  somewhat  more  diffi- 
cult game  of  Racquets ;   but  it  may  be  suggested,  en  passant,  that  Racquets,  like 


Arthur  Hunnewell. 


Court -Tennis,   Racquets,   Hand-  Fives,   and  Squash -Tennis  8 'J 


Court-Tennis,  would  be  far  easier,  far  better  played,  and  far  more  popular,  if 
people  did  not  start  with  the  harder  game  until  they  had  mastered  Squash  as  a 
foundation  for  their  play.  To  have  learnt  Squash  is  already  more  than  half-way 
toward  learning  Racquets  or  Court-Tennis,  as  the  great  American  masters  of  the 
arts,  Tom   Pettitt,  Bob  Moore,  and  George  Standing,  would   probably  all  agree. 

We  shall  understand  the  present  state  of  Racquets  in  America  far  more 
clearly  if  we  bear  in  mind  that  America  has 
fewer  Courts  than  England,  fewer  professionals, 
fewer  players ;  that  American  players  seldom 
begin  the  game  till  after  their  School  and  Uni- 
versity life  is  over ;  that  the  players  have  not 
had  abundant  training  in  Squash ;  and  that  the 
American  Courts  are  (with  the  exception  of 
Philadelphia)  slower,  and  the  balls  softer.  The 
two  latter  differences  tend  to  encourage  begin- 
ners, but  do  not  give  such  good  practice  for  the 
faster  game  as  it  is  played  in  England.  If, 
however,  Bickley  is  going  to  repair  some  of  the 
American  Courts  when  he  comes  over  to  build 
the  new  Racquet-Court  at  Tuxedo,  then  one 
condition  at  any  rate  will  be  altered.  And  it 
is  probable  that  any  School  or  University  that 
goes  in  for  Racquets  will  follow  Tuxedo  and  have  the  fast  Bickley-cement  also. 

The  result  of  these  conditions,  and  especially  of  the  small  number  ot  pro- 
fessionals. Courts,  players,  and  competitions,  is  that  the  standard  ot  play  is  lower 
here  than  in  England,  where  the  Public  Schools,  the  Universities,  and  the  Army, 
tend  to  keep  the  play  at  a  very  high  level.  Still  it  seems  to  me  that  the  Amer- 
ican standard  is  rapidly  rising,  and  will  rise  steadily ;  for  Americans  are  always 
ready,  not  only  to  watch  Exhibition  Matches,  but  also  to  learn  new  points  and 
to  put  them  to  trial.  Besides  the  standard,  the  style  in  America  is  usually  dif- 
ferent. There  is,  chiefly  owing  to  the  slowness  of  the  Courts  and  balls,  less  ot  a 
free  swing  and  more  of  a  "  push,"  less  of  the  straight  low  drive  down  the  side- 
walls  and  more  of  the  play  onto  the  side-walls.  There  is  decidedly  less  volleying 
and  half-volleying,  especially  in  taking  the  service,  and  the  most  useful  backhand 
service  into  the  right  hand  Court  is  rarely  seen.  But  there  are  exceptions  to  some 
of  the  above  general  statements:  thus  Mr.  Quincy  Shaw,  Jr.,  has  an  almost  thor- 
oughly English  "fast-court"  style,  and  so  has  Mr.  Clarence  Mackay.  In  Canada, 
also,  I  noticed  that  Mr.  F.  F.  Rolland  was  developing  the  half-volley  and  the 
back-hand  service.  It  will  not  be  long  before  the  most  modern  English  game 
is  adopted  in  America. 


Robert   G.  Shaw. 


88    Court -Tennis^   B^acquets^   Hand-  Fives  ^   and  Squash -Tennis 


But  the  task  of  discussing  the  leading  American  players  is 
in  more  competent  hands  than  mine,  and  I  shall  pass  on  to  a 
topic  in  which  I  teel  more  at  home. 

For  now  we  are  brought  to  the  hardest  of  all  Games, 
perhaps  the  hardest  to  play,  certainly  the  hardest  to  describe  ; 
and  yet  the  most  fascinating — at  least  the  most  fascinating  to 
play.  Court-Tennis,  the  game  of  kings  and  nobles,  goes 
back  to  comparatively  early  French  and  not  very  modern  Eng- 
lish history;  thus  Shakespeare,  in  a  classical  passage,  uses  the 
technical  terms  (such  as  "chase"  and  "hazard")  metaphori- 
cally. We  find  allusions  to  the  game  in  England  betore  1 400. 
It  is  these  old  features  of  the  game  that  make  it  so  difficult  to 
understand,  so  utterly  complicated  for  most  spectators.  Here 
I  can  only  try  to  tell  of  a  few  of  the  salient  features  of  the 
game  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  already  know  Lawn-Tennis, 
the  daughter-game.  I  trust  that  some  more  light  will  be 
thrown  on  the  subject  in  the  article  on  Court-Tennis  and 
Court-Tennis  players  at  Boston.  The  game  is  not  often  seen 
by  non-players,  though  Tuxedo  welcomes 
lady  -  spectators  and  boy  -  spectators,  and 
other  Clubs  might  well  have  their  ladies' 
days,  both  for  Court-Tennis  and  for  Rac- 
quets. It  is  for  non-players  that  I  write 
the  following,  in  the  hope  that  some  of  them  may  be  dis- 
abused of  the  fallacy  that  Court-Tennis  is  impossible  either 
to  learn  or  to  understand. 

The  actual  scoring  of  points  is  the  same  in  Court- 
Tennis  as  in  Lawn-Tennis:  a  2;ame  might  run  as  follows — 
"15 — love,  15 — all,  30 — 15,  30 — all,  40 — 30,  deuce,  van- 
tage to  A,  deuce,  vantage  to  B,  game;"  and  six  games  go  to 
a  set.  But,  in  Court-Tennis,  whoever  has  won  the  last 
point  has  his  score  called  out  first,  instead  of  the  server's 
score  being  called  out  first.  Besides  this,  both  games  have 
a  net  in  the  middle,  to  separate  the  players;  over  the  net 
they  must  alternately  hit  the  ball  before  it  has  bounced 
twice;  they  may  volley  it  or  half-volley  it.  The  ball  is  of 
about  the  same  size  as  a  Lawn-Tennis  ball,  and  the  rackets 
used  in  Court-Tennis  and  Lawn-Tennis  are  somewhat  sim- 
ilar in  size  and  in  shape  and  weight. 

But    the    differences    are    very    marked.      The    Court-     Walter  'Rogers  Furness. 


Edgar  Scott. 


Court -Tennis^   I^acquetf,   Hand- Fives  ^   and  Squash -Tennis  8g 


Tennis  racket  has  a  thicker  frame  and  a  smaller  face,  and  is 
heavier  and  has  stronger  gut  ;  the  ball  is  heavier,  being  full 
of  compressed  cloth  and  not  of  "nothing."  The  floor  is  of 
stone  or  cement,  not  of  grass,  or  dirt,  or  sand,  or  gravel. 
The  lines  on  the  floor  are  not  to  mark  the  side-boundaries 
and  back-boundaries,  etc.;  for  such  boundaries  are  practically 
abolished  by  side-walls  and  back-walls,  although  there  is  a 
"limit"  of  height. 

These  walls  are  all-important ;  a  ball  which  would  go 
out  of  Court  at  Lawn-Tennis  will  come  back — be  thrown 
back,  as  it  were — into  the  Court  at  Court-Tennis.  This 
makes  the  play  far  more  complicated  and,  to  many,  far  more 
interesting,  owing  to  the  number  of  angles  at  which  the  ball 
can  approach  the  player.  Hitting  a  ball  onto  the  side-wall 
first,  instead  of  straight  over  the  centre-net,  is  called  Boasting. 
Again,  in  these  walls  there  are  certain  openings  into 
which  one  is  allowed  to  hit  the  ball.  This  means  that  a  stroke, 
for  example  a  hard  drive,  which  would  go  far  out  of  Court 
in  Lawn-Tennis,  in  Court-Tennis  may  en- 
ter an  opening  and  actually  win  the  stroke. 
It  is  not  every  opening,  every  "  hole  in 
the  wall,"  that  counts  as  a  "  winning  open- 
ing." The  winning  openings  are  three: 
\\\  the  back-wall,  on  the  side  where  the  server  al- 
ways stands,  is  a  long,  narrow  slit,  netted  over  to  protect 
the  spectators  behind.  This  is  called  the  Dedans,  a  word 
showing  the  French  origin  of  the  game ;  hitting  into  this 
is  called  Forcing.  li  you  sit  in  the  Dedans,  behind  the  net, 
you  notice  a  small  hole  or  box  in  the  wall — right  oppo- 
site to  you,  beyond  the  centre-net,  and  to  your  right.  This 
is  called  the  Grille. 

Now  look  down  the  left  side-wall  of  the  Court,  and 
you  will  see  another  great  long  slit,  divided  (by  posts  and 
nettings)  into  what  are  called  Galleries.  The  Gallery  far- 
thest from  you  is  called  the  Winning  Gallery;  this  and 
the  Grille  and  the  Dedans  are  the  three  winning  openings. 
Glance  above  your  head,  as  you  sit  in  the  Dedans,  and 
you  will  notice  that  the  roof  (called  the  Pent-house)  slopes 
downward  toward  the  Court;  this  roof  runs  all  the  way 
along  the  left  side  (over  the  Galleries),  and  along  the  back- 


Hugh  D.  Scott. 


James  Potter. 


go    Court -Tennis^   I(acquets,   Hand- Fives,   and  Squash-Tennis 


wall,  finishing  up  just  over  the  Grille.      Balls  which  are  hit  onto  this  roof  fall  or 
"drip"  into  the  Court,  owing  to  the  slopes. 

Above  this  Pent-house  is  the  side-wall  again,  up  to  a  certain  height.  Then 
come  (in  some  Courts)  windows,  and  the  roof.  There  is  one  side  of  the  Court, 
the  right  side,  which   has  no   Pent-house   at   all ;    but  beyond   the  centre-net   it 


has  a  projecting 
Tambour .  The 
of  this  at  an  angle 
beginner.  It  is 
Hazards,  the  but- 
and  the  open  box 
further  side  of  the 
the  Hazard-side. 

The  Dia- 
make  the  above 
Court  clearer.  It 
bered,  by  the  way, 
larger  than  a 
Court,  and  the  net 
sides  than  in  the 
there  is  a  great 
corner  to  corner, 
pass  over  the  low- 

And  now  for 
ences  in   the  play 


buttress,  called  the 
ball  will  come  off 
which  puzzles  the 
because  of  these 
tress  or  Tambour, 
or  Grille,  that  the 
Court   is   called 

gram  may  help  to 
features  o  t  the 
must  be  remem- 
that  the  Court  is 
Lawn  -Tennis 
is  far  higher  at  the 
middle,  so  that 
deal  of  play  from 
that  the  ball  may 
est  part  of  the  net. 
some  of  the  differ- 
and  scoring. 

The  Lawn-Tennis  server  serves  over  the  net  directly  onto  the  "floor;"  the 
Court-Tennis  server  always  has  to  serve  onto  the  Pent-house  above  the  left-wall. 
He  serves  always  from  the  same  side  of  the  net ;  he  can,  however,  serve  not  merely 
from  the  back  of  the  Court  (as  in  Lawn-Tennis),  but  from  practically  anywhere 
in  it.  Moreover,  his  service  need  not  be  the  somewhat  monotonous  "  overhead 
railway  "  drive,  but  may  be  an  underhand  or  overhand  twist  or  cut,  as  well  as  a 
smash,  and  it  may  hit  the  side-wall  above  the  Pent-house  or  it  may  hot.  Prob- 
ably one  of  the  most  efi^ective  services  is  the  overhand  "Smash"  with  a  cut,  of 
which  Mr.  Stockton  and  Mr.  Crane  are  the  best  exponents.  The  server  does 
not  serve  just  for  one  game ;  he  may  serve  for  only  part  of  a  game,  or  he  may 
serve  for  many  whole  games.  It  just  depends  on  the  "chases,"  which  state- 
ment leaves  the  non-player  not  an  atom  wiser  than  before.  For  what  is  a  chase  ? 
In  Lawn-Tennis,  if  a  ball  has  bounced  twice  without  being  returned,  a 
point  is  scored;  the  ball  which  you  miss,  you  miss  once  for  all,  for  good  or  evil. 
But  in  Court-Tennis   there  are  many  balls  which   you   may  miss  without  neces- 


Nathaniel  Thayer. 


/ 


■;:'.-Ji 


Eustace  H.  Miles. 


AnfiMeur    Champion   of  England  and  the    United  States  at    Court-Tennis,   and  of  the    United  States  and  of 

Canada  at   Racquets   and  Squash-Tennis. 


Diagram  of  Court   Tennis   Court. 


Court -Tennis,   I^acquets,   Hand- Fives,   and  Squash  -  Tennis     gj 


sarily  losing  the  point.  The  place  where  these  balls  bounce  at  their  second 
bounce — i.e.,  the  place  where  they  "fall,"  is  called  out  by  the  marker.  Later 
on,  you  change  sides,  and  play  these  points  out  over  again ;  but  7iow  every  stroke 
which  you  make  must  be  a  better  stroke  than  the  one  which  you  left  alone — i.e., 
at  its  second  bounce  it  must  fall  between  the  place 
where  the  other  ball  fell  and  the  back-wall.  An 
instance  will  make  this  rather  more  intelligible. 

Supposing  you  are  40 — 30,  and  have  served, 
and  your  opponent,  B,  hits  a  ball  which  you  can- 
not reach,  and  which  falls,  at  its  second  bounce, 
three  yards  from  your  back-wall.  The  marker  calls 
"Chase  3,"  and  you  and  B  change  sides.  B  now 
serves,  and  you  have  to  send  every  stroke  so  that  it 
will  fall,  at  its  second  bounce,  less  t/ia?i  three  yards 
from  the  back-wall ;  between  the  line  of  "  Chase  3  " 
and  the  back-wall;  or  else  you  can  "force  "  for  the 
Dedans.  But,  if  you  play  on  the  floor,  and  if  B 
thinks  that  your  stroke  will  fall  more  than  three 
yards  from  the  back-wall,  he  leaves  it  alone;  if  it 
does  fall  as  he  expects,  then  and  not  till  then  does 
he  score  the  point;  if  it  falls  between  "Chase  3" 
and  the  back-wall,  you  score  the  point. 

There  are  lines  across  the  floor  to  mark  the 
various  "  Chases." 

These  chases  not  only  demand  considerable 
judgment,  but  they  also  give  pleasant  intervals  while 
one  is  changing  sides ;  this  relieves  the  strain  of  the 
game,  and  gives  the  less  active  player  who  has  more 
experience  an  advantage  over  the  more  active  player 
who  has  less  experience. 

If,  then,  we  bear  in  mind  the  side-walls  and  back-walls,  the  Winning 
Openings,  the  Pent-house,  the  Galleries,  the  Tambour,  and  the  Chases,  we  see 
that  one  of  the  great  charms  of  Court-Tennis  must  be  its  almost  infinite  variety, 
and  the  choice  of  strokes  of  which  it  admits.  It  needs  not  only  rapid  decision, 
but  also  calmness.  It  absorbs  the  whole  attention,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to 
think  of  business  cares  or  other  worries. 

The  typical  stroke  at  Court-Tennis  is  a  very  heavy  cut  or  slice;  the  racket 
does  not  meet  the  ball  with  the  full  face,  but  at  an  angle  ;  this  takes  off  some 
of  the  pace,  but  it  brings  the  ball  down  sharply  off  the  walls.  Thus,  in  the 
above  instance,  when  you  were  playing  for  "Chase  3,"  if  you   put   on   a  "cut" 


Newbold  Etting. 


g/f      Court -Tennis^   I^acquets,   Hand-  Fives,   and  Squash  -Tennis 


the  ball  would  very  likely  come  down  oft  the  back-wall  between  3  and  the 
back- wall,  and  so  win  the  chase,  whereas,  from  a  simple  hit  it  would  come  out 
to  five  or  six  yards  from  the  back-wall,  and  so  lose  the  chase.  It  is  this  cut 
that  marks  so  many  strokes  at  Court-Tennis  and  nearly  every  Service  at  Rac- 
quets. An  English  marker  is  said 
to  have  advised  a  beginner  to  cut 


or  slice  the  ball  "like  'e  was  kill- 


in'  a  dorg.' 


This  variety  in  the  strokes, 
and  this  use  ot  the  cut-stroke,  are 
sufficient  to  mark  Court -Tennis 
off  as  a  separate  game ;  but  it  has 
another  feature  besides,  which  is 
of  even  greater  interest,  viz. :  its 
system  of  Handicaps.  These  can- 
not be  enumerated  here,  but  they 
are  so  nicely  adjusted  that  the  very 
strongest  player  may  have  the 
greatest  possible  difficulty  in  beat- 
ing a  novice ;  he  may  have  to  play 
up  his  very  hardest,  without  spoil- 
ing his  own  play  in  the  least. 
Such  odds  as  "Touch-no-walls" 
(any  ball  hit  by  the  stronger 
player  and  striking  any  wall  or 
opening  before  its  second  bounce 
counts  against  the  stronger  player) 
would  be  a  good  instance;  it 
makes  the  stronger  player  take 
great  care  to  get  complete  control  of  the  ball,  and  it  gives  the  weaker  player  a 
number  of  easy  strokes  to  return.  Thus  any  two  men  can  play  together,  how- 
ever different  their  standard.  The  social  and  "democratic"  influence  of  this 
system  is  considerable. 

In  Tennis,  as  in  Racquets,  America  has  fewer  Courts  than  England,  fewer 
professionals  (or  markers,  as  they  are  called),  fewer  players,  and  therefore  fewer 
competitions.  Its  only  Club  Courts  at  present  are  those  at  Boston,  New  York, 
Newport,  Chicago,  and  Tuxedo,  though  it  must  be  remembered  that  at  least 
three  of  these  (Boston,  New  York,  and  Tuxedo)  are  very  busy,  often  for  the  whole 
day,  and  before  long  there  will  be  many  new  Club  Courts,  just  as  soon  as  the  Uni- 
versities and  rich  individuals  recognize  the  extraordinary  advantages  of  the  game. 


George  T.  Rice. 


F.  R.  Sears. 


Court -Tennis^   Racquets  ^   Hand-  Fives  ^   and  Squash  -Tennis     05 


American  Courts  are  mostly  shorter  than  English  Courts,  and  have  lower 
roofs  as  well,  partly  owing  to  the  fact  that  on  a  fourth  or  fifth  floor  the  height 
is  limited  by  law.  The  floors  and  walls  are  probably  (with  the  exception  of 
Tuxedo)  slower  and  less  true  than  those  of  the  best   English  Courts,  but,  as  the 

American  balls  are  hard- 
er, the  game  is  played 
under  more  or  less  simi- 
lar conditions.  I  should 
say  that  the  American 
Courts  are  not  so  good 
as  the  very  best,  although 
better  than  the  average 
English  Courts,  whereas 
the  American  balls  are 
better  than  the  English 
balls — they  seem  to  me 
less  "flufly"  and  "pud- 
gy" and  "stuggy" — I 
think  the  words  express 
my  meaning. 

After    these   few 
words  as  to  the  scoring 
and  play,  and  the  advan- 
tages of  the  game,  and 
the    American    Courts 
and  balls,  we  may   now 
note  a  few  general  feat- 
ures   of  American   as  Morton  Paton. 
compared  with   English 
plays,  leaving  the  accounts  of  special  players  for  the  special  articles  which  will 
follow  mine.      It  will   be   found  that  the  features  depend   partly   on   the  difl^er- 
ences  between    English   and   American   Courts,   etc.,  partly  on   the  general   dif- 
ferences between  the  two  nations,  but  still  more   on  the  differences  between  the 
two  greatest  of  American  teachers. 

Undeniably  the  new  game  compares  unfavorably  with  the  old,  in  respect 
of  grace  and  dignity;  in  respect  of  the  free  use  of  those  many  Handicaps  which 
are  still  to  be  found  in  the  rules  of  the  game ;  and  in  respect  of  the  science  of 
varying  the  service.  But  the  gain  has  been  vastly  greater  than  the  loss,  if  only 
because  Tennis  is  ever  so  much  healthier  than  it  used  to  be,  and  gives  ever  so 
much  more  scope  for  originality. 


Maurice  La  Montagne. 


g6     Court -Tennis^   I(acquets^   Hand-Fives^   and  Squash  -  Tennis 


So  far  we  have  compared  modern  with  ancient  Tennis,  and  the  task  has 
been  easy.  But  it  becomes  very  difficuh  when  we  have  to  compare  and  contrast 
the  American  and  English  styles  of  play.  For  America  has  at  least  two  styles 
of  play,  almost    entirely  diverse  from  one  another;   it  is  probable  that  Tuxedo 

will  produce  a  third  style,  in  which 
the  accurate  position  and  severity  of 
cut  of  the  "New  York  School"  will 
be  combined  with  the  bustling  activity 
and  power  of  return  of  the  "  Boston 
School."  Let  us  begin  by  contrasting 
these  two  schools  before  we  contrast 
American  and  English  play  generally. 
The  New  York  style  is  very  closely 
akin  to  the  older  English  style,  of 
which  Mr.  J.  Heathcote  and  the  Hon. 
Alfred  Lyttelton  were  the  leading 
Amateur  exponents.  The  Hon.  Cecil 
Baring  is  the  most  typical  instance  in 
New  York.  What  are  the  character- 
istics of  the  New  York  play,  and  to 
what  are  they  due  ? 

If  we  except  the  overhead  smash 
service  of  Mr.  E.  Thomson,  and  the 
hard  straight  forcing  of  Mr.  T.  Suffern 
Tailer  and  a  few  others,  we  should  de- 
scribe the  New  York  players  as  trying  to  keep  the  head  of  the  racket  above  the 
level  ot  the  wrist,  putting  on  a  heavy  cut,  and  paying  attention  to  the  sideway- 
position  of  the  body;  but  as  putting  little  pace  on  their  strokes,  and  usually 
hitting,  on  the  floor,  to  the  place  where  the  opponent  expects  the  ball  to  come. 
The  typical  New  York  service  is  quiet,  and  the  play  in  general  is  quiet  and 
not  ungraceful. 

Among  the  causes  must  be  noted  the  slightly  uneven  surfaces  of  the  floor 
and  walls,  the  nature  of  the  balls,  and,  above  all,  the  example  and  precept  of 
Altred  Tompkins,  whose  painstaking  care  (even  with  the  veriest  duffer),  and 
infectious  enthusiasm,  have  helped  to  fill  the  New  York  Court  to  overflowing. 
We  all  owe  him  a  great  debt  of  gratitude. 

How  does  the  New  York  style  contrast  with  the  English  style  of,  let  us 
say,  Mr.  J.  B.  Gribble  or  Mr.  Percy  Ashworth  ?  There  are  few  contrasts;  but 
these  English  players  use  the  volley,  the  half-volley,  and  the  "boasted  force" 
for  the  Dedans  far  more  than  the  players  of  New  York  or  even  of  Boston.    The 


0.   S.   Campbell. 


Lawrence  M.   Stockton. 

IVhitier   of  the    Nntional   Championshifi  for    Riicijucts,    li 


5,   i8g8,  i8gg. 


Hand  Fives. 


Court -Tennify   I^acquets^   Hand- Fives ^   and  Squash  -  Tennis     gg 


Boston  style  contrasts  with  the  English   style  very  much  as  it  contrasts  with  the 

New  York  style.      If  we   consider   the   Boston   style,  we  cannot  fail   to   reckon 

among  its  causes   not  only  the  somewhat   more  even  surfaces   of  the   floor  and 

walls,  and  the  nature  of  the  Boston   balls,  but  also  the  example  and  precept  of 

Tom  Pettitt.      He  takes  infinite  pains 

with  everyone ;   he  infuses  his  keenness 

into    everyone,    so    that    his    Court    is 

going    all    day    long.      But,    whereas 

Tompkins   insists   on   the  cut  and   the 

position   of  the   body,   Pettitt — at   any 

rate  with  most  beginners — ignores  the 

cut  and  the  position  ot  the  body.      His 

advice  is  "  Get  the  ball  over ;   when  in 

a  difficulty,  play  for  a  winning  opening 

or  for  the  'nick';   and  above  all,  keep 

on  the  alert  and — hustle." 

Thus  the  average  Bostonian — Mr. 
Austin  Potter  is  not  included  here, 
since  he  plays  more  on  the  floor,  and 
so  rather  in  the  New  York  and  Eng- 
lish style — usually  keeps  the  head  of 
his  racket  below  the  level  of  his  wrist 
(as  in  Racquets  or  Squash) ;  he  puts 
on  little  cut,  but  often  some  twist,  as 
he   gets  his  racket  below   and   behind 

the  ball ;  he  pays  little  attention  to  the  sideway-position  of  his  body,  so  that 
he  uses  his  wrist  rather  than  his  shoulder  and  body  muscles;  but  he  hits  hard, 
especially  for  the  openings  and  for  the  length  of  the  Court;  he  tries  to  "dodge" 
his  opponent  by  "masking"  his  stroke;  and,  last  but  not  least,  he  aims  at  get- 
ting everything  over  and  rushing  about  rapidly  in  any  direction.  The  Boston 
service  is  in  keeping  with  the  stroke:  it  is  a  fast  over-hand  smash,  and  keeps 
the  opponent  on  the  run — oh,  terribly  on  the  run ! 
.  And  what  of  the  standard  of  play  ? 
I  think  that,  so  far  as  the  leading  players  are  concerned,  England  is  a  little, 
though  a  very  little  ahead ;  but,  so  far  as  the  average  is  concerned,  America  is 
a  long  way  ahead,  and  is  likely  to  remain  so  and  to  increase  the  lead,  since  more 
Americans  can  afford  to  play,  and  there  will  be  more  Courts  every  year,  and, 
above  all,  the  Americans  are  always  on  the  alert  to  put  new  ideas  into  practice — 
to  give  every  suggestion  a  trial.  They  have  almost  incredible  keenness  and 
energy,   and,  with   a   little   more  varied   experience,  they  are  bound  to   improve 


PV.  B.  Dinsmore,  Jr. 


'If""   '"'5:^ 


100  Court -Tennis^   I(acquets^   Hand- Fives  ^   and  Squash  -Tennis 

continually.  It  may  be  that  they  take  the  game  too  seriously,  but — generally 
speaking — in  this  game  they  never  let  their  desire  to  win  get  the  better  of  their 
spirit  of  absolute  fairness.  There  are  not  three  better  "sportsmen"  in  the  whole 
world  than  Lawrence  Stockton,  Richmond  Fearing,  and  Morton  Paton. 

The  game  of  Court-Tennis  is  great  not  only  because  of  its  successful 
daughter,  Lawn-Tennis,  not  only  because  of  its  venerable  past  and  distinguished 
players  in  the  past,  but  also  because  of  its  glorious  present  and  future,  and  its 
distinguished  players  in  the  present  or  in  the  immediate  past.  I  need  only 
mention  the  Hon.  Alfred  Lyttelton,  Sir  William  Hart-Dyke,  Sir  Edward  Grey, 
Professor  Darwin,  Sir  Andrew  Noble,  and  Lord  Kinnaird,  to  prove  that  some 
of  the  very  greatest  Englishmen  have  been  or  still  are  among  its  patrons.  When 
I  left  England  in  December,  1899,  I  brought  with  me  the  good  wishes  of  more 
than  one  of  the  above  for  the  success  of  the  game  of  Tennis  in  America ;  and 
the  good  wishes  will  certainly  be  fullilled. 

When  I  visited  England  in  May  to  play  in  the  Final  of  the  English  Ama- 
teur Tennis  Championship,  I  met  several  past  and  present  experts  who  were 
most  desirous  to  see  or  to  play  the  game  on  this  side  of  the  water.  Among 
these  were  Sir  Charles  Pontifex,  Mr.  J.  Byng  Gribble,  Sir  Edward  Grey,  the 
Hon.  L.  Guest,  Mr.  G.  E.  A.  Ross,  and  Mr.  H.  8.  Mahony.  We  hope  to  see 
every  one  of  these,  and  many  others,  in  the  Dedans  or  the  Court  at  Tuxedo 
and  elsewhere. 

In  early  times  the  game  was  a  display  of  graceful  poses,  rather  than  a  severe 
exercise.  There  has  been  a  growing  tendency  to  make  the  game  faster  and 
faster,  with  more  activity  and  "bustling,"  more  volleying,  more  halt-volleying, 
more  "forcing"  for  the  winning  openings,  more  hard  "boasts"  onto  the  side- 
wall,  more  hard  drives  for  the  nick  {i.e.,  the  space  where  the  floor  and  the  wall 
meet).  This  tendency  has  been  seen  not  only  in  America  but  also  in  England, 
where  a  player  of  the  old  school  remarked  recently :  "  This  game  is  quite  spoilt. 
Why,  I  should  get  so  hot,  if  I  played  it  in  this  modern  style,  that  I  should 
have  to  wear  flannels."  And  in  some  respects  Americans,  or  rather,  Bostonians, 
have  gone  farther  in  the  direction  of  "fastness"  than  the  average  Englishman. 
But  in  both  cases  one  of  the  causes  is  the  desire  to  win,  and  another  is  the  fact 
that  the  Courts  are  truer  and  the  rackets  more  tightly  strung  than  they  used  to  be. 


NEW  YORK  AND  TUXEDO 
COURT-  TENNIS  A  ND 
COURT-TENNIS  PLAYERS 

BY   T.    SUFFERN   TAILER 


HAVE  been  asked  to  write  about  Court-Tennis  and  Court- 
Tennis  players  in  New  York  and  Tuxedo,  and  I  have  been  told 
that  the  general  characteristics  of  American  play  have  already 
been  dealt  with  by  one  who  has  the  advantage  of  seeing  them 
from  the  outside.  So  I  can  proceed  almost  at  once  to  class  the 
different  players  and  to  point  out  the  most  strongly  marked 
features  in  their  game.  But,  before  I  do  this,  let  me  say  a  few  words  in  praise 
of  those  who  have  founded  and  fostered  Court-Tennis  in  New  York. 

The  first  great  step  was  taken  when  the  Racquet  Courts  were  moved  up- 
town from  Twenty-sixth  to  Forty-third  Street,  and  a  Court-Tennis  Court  was 
added :  the  experiment  was  bold  and  thoroughly  sporting,  and  it  is  to  the  pluck, 
energy,  care,  enthusiasm,  and  generosity  of  such  men  as  Robert  Bacon,  Percy 
Chubb,  D.  Crawford  Clark,  R.  J.  Cross,  Paul  Dana,  W.  E.  Glyn,  the  Harri- 
mans,  the  Hitchcocks,  Amory  Hodges,  the  Hoyts,  the  La  Montagues,  C.  W. 
Maury,  J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  H.  C.  Mortimer,  C.  Lawrence  Perkins,  Isaac 
Townsend,  Walter  Trimble,  the  Vanderbilts,  David  B.  Van  Emburgh,  W.  C. 
Whitney,  and  Bronson  Winthrop — to  mention  a  few  out  of  many — that  the 
Club  at  New  York  owes  its  birth,  its  growth,  and  the  greater  part  of  its  grand 
success. 

First  and  foremost  among  New  York  Court-Tennis  players  came  B.  Spalding 
de  Garmendia,  who  was  Champion  of  the  United  States  as  well  as  of  the  New 
York  Club,  both  at  Court-Tennis  and  at  Racquets.  His  power  of  getting  to  the 
ball,  and  of  judging  it  with  such  accuracy  that  the  return  was  almost  a  certainty, 
marked  him  as  a  born  player  of  ball-games.  He  had  received  a  fine  training 
at  other  ball  games  on  the  other  side — at  baseball,  lawn-tennis,  and  basket-ball — 
before  he  started  Court-Tennis,  and  had  already  practically  acquired  a  graceful 
and  correct  position  and  stroke :  this  gave  him  a  great  advantage  over  most  other 
Americans,  who  came  to  the  play  as  to  something  rather  new.  He  was  also  a 
splendid  Match-player:  for  example,  he  often  used  the  opening  games  for  the 
purpose  of  studying  his  opponent's  play,  and  he  never  gave  up.      For  many  years 


a      -^ 


102      New   York  and    Tuxedo   Court-  Tennis  and  Players 


Boston  had  no  one  to  equal  him ;  for  Sears  had  retired,  and  Stockton  and  Fear- 
ing were  not  yet  in  their  prime;  but  de  Garmendia  went  abroad  and  has  Hved 
there  since.      He  has  been  in  Paris  recently. 

de  Garmendia  left  behind  him  in  the  New  York  Club  many  players  who 
might  be  classed  together,  with  one  exception.  Ernest  Thomson,  owing  to  his 
over-hand  twist  service  (like  the  Boston  service,  which  probably  owes  its  origin  to 
Mr.  R.  D.  Sears),  and,  owing  to  the  amount  ot  time  which  he  has  been  able  to 


devote  to  practice  here 
to  the  present  kept  just 
or  three  Boston  players 
stronger  than  he, 
rect  in  their  form, 
the  New  York  Club 
so  that  it  is  impossible 
O.  S.  Campbell.  In 
Cecil  Baring,  who 
Alfred  Lyttelton  or  J. 
say,  he  plays  quietly, 
a  good  length,  and 
volley  and  half-volley, 
stroke,  are  among  his 
J.  J.  Cairnes  is  a 
if  he  had  practice, 
front  rank ;  his  stroke 
cut,  in  contrast  to  the 
the  Ex -Champion  of 
S.  Campbell.  This 
beginner  brings  h^om 
habit  of  coming  up  and 
his  lightning  rapidity 
wrist-flick,  and  his  ac- 
the  Tambour,  mark  off 
anyone    else.       But    he 


and  in  England,  has  up 
ahead.  There  are  two 
who  are  accounted 
though  not  more  cor- 
He  did  not  enter  for 
Championship  in  i  900, 
to  compare  him  with 
this  class  w  i  1 1  come 
plays  after  the  style  ol 
B.  Gribble;  that  is  to 
with  a  fairly  severe  cut, 
plenty  of  return.  His 
and  his  backhand 
strongest  points, 
more  active  player,  and, 
would  rise  to  the  very 
is  also  correct  and  well 
self-developed  stroke  of 
Lawn-Tennis,  Mr.  O. 
versatile  and  energetic 
his  former  game  the 
volleying  incessantly : 
and  judgment,  his 
curacy  in  playing  for 
his  style  from  that  of 
has  a  weakness  :  an  op- 
ponent who  uses  the  side-walls  freely  is  liable  to  have  the  advantage  over  him. 
Keeping  to  alphabetical  order,  we  return  to  the  older  type  of  play,  as  shown 
by  W.  E.  Glyn,  whose  cut  was  especially  severe,  and  Hon.  Michael  Herbert, 
who  to  the  severest  cut  of  all  American  Amateurs,  and  to  the  most  graceful  and 
accomplished  play,  added  plenty  of  return. 

Within  fifteen  for  a   bisque    of  Messrs.  Thomson  and  Campbell  should  -be 
mentioned  J.  H.  Morgan    and    his   brother,  L.  H.  Morgan,  who  are  both  thor- 


J.  Macdonough. 


New    York  and   Tuxedo   Court-  Tennis  and  Players      loj 


ough  tennis  players,  and  equally  good  whether  at  the  single  or  double  game. 
Both  are  severe  in  their  stroke,  volley  well,  use  excellent  judgment,  and  are  sure 
at  killing  easy  balls. 

A.  Morten,  who  not  only  has  cut  but  also  good  length,  time  after  time 
places  the  ball  with  wonderful  accuracy  and  lays  down  very  short  chases.  His 
style  is  easy  and  not  ungraceful — he  actually  plays  much  better  than  he  seems 
to  be  playing.  The  same  might  be  said  of  Morton  Paton,  one  of  the  best  and 
keenest  all-round 
only  those  who  know 
ize  how  much  Paton 
in  Matches ;  for  he  is 
Match  -  players.  His 
seem  lucky  or  else  easy 
nothing  of  the  kind, 
always  keeps  perfectly 
throws      away       a 

Charles  Sands,  the 
France,  is  a  very  differ- 
lives  now  in  Paris, 
of  many  of  the  old 
away  at  his  terrible  ser- 
som'ewhat  like  Stock- 
more  at  getting  the 
the  opponent  far  for- 
Following  this  up  as 
tainty  in  his  volley  and 
certs  any  but  the  most 
players.  The  next 
and  fast  line  can  be 
teurs  of  whom  several 
the  class  just  mentioned 
more  time  for  practice. 
bered  that  most  of  the 


E.  A.  The 


sportsmen  in  America: 
the  game  well  can  real- 
uses  his  head,  especially 
one  of  the  best  of 
returns  might  often 
to  kill,  but  they  are 
He  has  a  splendid  eye, 
calm,  and  seldom 
chance. 

present  Champion  of 
ent  kind  of  player :  he 
where — to  the  horror 
school — he  pounds 
vice:  this  service  is 
ton's  or  Sears',  but  aims 
"nick"  than  at  driving 
ward  into  the  Court, 
he  does  with  such  cer- 
half-volley,  he  discon- 
thorough  all-round 
class — though  no  hard 
drawn — includes  Ama- 
would  certainly  enter 
if  they  could  only  get 
For  it  must  be  remem- 
devotees    of    the   game 


are  not   men    of    leisure — as   so    many  are  in    England — but   men   of   business. 

The  best  example  of  this  would  be  Robert  Bacon,  who  was  a  well-known 
Harvard  all-round  athlete  not  long  ago.  With  his  judgment,  his  eye,  his  strength, 
and  his  return,  he  has  the  making  of  a  splendid  player. 

G.  P.  Eustis,  with  his  wide  reach,  might  also  improve,  if  it  were  not  for 
the  counter-attractions  of  Polo,  at  which  form  of  sport  he  has  already  won  fame. 
It  is  not   Polo    but    Yachting    that    attracts   J.  Macdonough,  whose   strength  at 


I Od       New   York  and    Tuxedo   Court-  Tennis  and  Players 


Court-Tennis  lies  in  his  puzzling  overhand  service — a  service  of  his  own  inven- 
tion. He  has  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  game,  from  having  played  a  great 
deal  on  both  sides  of  the  water,  and  is  in  quite  a  literal  sense  indefatigable.  He 
is  particularly  good  in  the  four-handed  game.      In  this  class  are  J.  W.  Henning, 


who  uses  his  wrist  more 
player,  and  has  a  useful 
cut ;  and  James  Henry 
supporter  of  the  game, 
opportunities  for  prac- 
a  respectable  rank  as  a 
space  to  mention  the 
show  promise ;  for  a  i&w 
the  newest  and  most  cos- 
Courts,  viz.,  the  Court 
was  opened  with  a  series 
1899  and  the  beginning 
played  the  first  Interna- 
which    produced  an   ex- 


Charles  Sands. 


than  any  other  New  York 
half-volley  and  a  heavy 
Smith,  who  is  a  stanch 
and  with  more  time  and 
tice  he  could  easily  take 
player.  There  is  not 
many  other  players  who 
words  must  be  said  about 
mopolitan  of  American 
at  Tuxedo.  The  Court 
of  Matches  at  the  end  of 
ot  1900.  Here  were 
tional  Amateur  Singles, 
citing    game    between 


Eustace  H.  Miles  and  Lawrence  Stockton ;  the  first  International  Doubles,  in 
which  no  fewer  than  four  Champions  took  part.  Both  of  these  matches  re- 
sulted in  hard-won  victories  for  England.  There  were  also  other  excellent 
matches,  which  made  a  fortnight  of  Tennis  quite  unique  in  the  history  of  the 
game.  But  the  combinations  and  variations  of  all  the  styles  of  play  were  not  the 
sole  interest  of  Tuxedo.  In  the  first  place  the  Club  was  of  a  non-local  charac- 
ter, including  not  only  the  best  players  and  sportsmen  from  Boston  and  New 
York,  hut  also  some  from  Philadelphia  and  elsewhere.  Secondly,  the  Court  is 
made  of  the  very  best  material,  Bickley  cement,  and  in  the  very  best  proportions, 
viz.,  those  of  Mr.  Julian  Marshall's  ideal  Court,  which  differs  little  from  the 
Match-Courts  at  Queen's  and  Lord's.  The  light  and  ventilation  are  perfection. 
Last  of  all,  the  English  Amateur  Champion  Court-Tennis,  who  is  also  the  Am- 
ateur Champion  of  the  United  States  and  Canada  at  Racquets,  made  his  home  for 
some  time  at  Tuxedo,  and  is  one  of  the  Governors  of  the  Tennis  and  Racquet 
Club.      Thus  the  Club  can  fairly  be  regarded  as  International. 

Tuxedo  has  its  Squash-Courts  as  well ;  its  Racquet-Court  is  to  be  ready  as 
early  as  possible,  and  it  may  possibly  witness  some  interesting  opening  Matches. 

The  Tuxedo  Courts  will  probably  serve  as  a  model  for  all  future  Courts  built 
in  America :  Mr.  George  Gould,  who  bids  fair  to  become  one  of  our  great  pa- 
trons of  Sport,  has  already  followed  the  proportions  in  his  Court  at  Lakewood. 
It  is  to  such  places,  with  their  fine  country  air,  that  business  men  will  come  more 
and  more  frequently  to  spend   their   Saturdays  and   Sundays,  especially  when  the 


T.  Suffern  Tailer. 


New    York  and    Tuxedo   Court-  Tennis  and  Players      lOJ 


weather  is  cold  or  rainy.  Already  the  Court  is  quite  a  new  element  in  Tuxedo 
life :  among  the  most  enthusiastic  of  the  beginners  might  be  mentioned,  to  take 
a  few  names  at  random,  H.  T.  Carey,  Price  Collier,  C.  T.  Condon,  George 
Dodge,  Richard  Delafield,  William  R.  Garrison,  Grenville  Kane,  William  Kent, 


Pierre  Lorillard,  Jr.,  and 
history  of  the  Court 
the  true  sportsmanlike 
America.  A  number  ot 
many  advantages  ot 
ample,  as  a  game  inde- 
weather,  and  as  a  game 
cise  and  pleasure  and  yet 
So  they  subscribed  over 
Governors  to  manage  the 
of  the  Governors  and 
will  do  more  than  any- 
many  of  the  leading  men 
realized  the  value  of  the 


John  S.   Tooker. 


Dr.  R  u  s  h  m  o  r  e .  The 
throws  a  bright  light  on 
teeling  prevalent  in 
rich  men  recognized  the 
Court -Tennis,  for  ex- 
pendent  ot  season  or 
bringing  healthy  exer- 
requiring  active  thought. 
$80,000,  and  appointed 
fund  tor  them.  The  list 
some  ot  the  subscribers 
thing  else  to  show  how 
in  every  line  of  lite  have 
game,  and  have  had  the 
generosity  to  back  up  the  scheme  with  their  money  and  their  co-operation. 
The  list  includes  Robert  Bacon,  Cecil  Baring,  Harry  Walters,  J.  Macdonough, 
Henry  W.  Poor,  James  Henry  Smith,  T.  Sutfern  Tailer,  C.  B.  Alexander, 
George  Baker,  James  L.  Breese,  A.  Cammack,  Amory  S.  Carhart,  the  late  C.  H. 
Coster,  R.  Fulton  Cutting,  Richard  Delafield,  George  E.  Dodge,  Theodore 
Frelinghuysen,  Amos  French,  William  R.  Garrison,  C.  Hyde,  F.  R.  Halsey, 
Oliver  Harriman,  J.  W.  Henning,  A.  D.  Juilliard,  Grenville  Kane,  Pierre  Loril- 
lard, Jr.,  Richard  Mortimer,  Clarence  Mackay,  Bradley  Martin,  H.  W.  Munroe, 
Herbert  Pell,  Percy  Pyne,  S.  S.  Spencer,  W.  K.  Vanderbilt,  Walter  Watrous, 
Fernandez  Yznaga,  George  Eustis,  Arthur  Kemp,  Hollis  Hunnewell,  Geo.  Rich- 
mond Fearing,   Jr.,  Lawrence  Stockton,  Morton  Paton,  Whitney  Warren,  etc. 

This  short  account  gives  no  idea  of  the  beauty  of  the  Tennis  Club  building, 
both  inside  and  outside.  Designed  by  Warren  and  Wetmore,  situated  just  by 
the  two  Club-houses  of  the  Tuxedo  Club,  looking  in  front  on  a  lovely  lake  and 
the  Lawn-Tennis  Courts,  and  behind,  on  another  lake — with  white  columns  and 
piazzas  and  a  red  roof,  with  a  Turkish  Bath,  Plunge  Bath,  and  live  Dressing- 
rooms  within — what  more  could  be  desired?  Add  to  this  that  this  is  the  only 
residential  Tennis  Club  in  America,  and  that  it  has  a  unique  Dedans  Salon  in 
various  shades  of  green,  with  green  furniture,  for  the  ladies,  and  an  equally  hand- 
some red  lounging-room,  with  dark  furniture,  for  the  men ;  add  also  some  tine 
old  prints,  and  for  instruction  in  the  games  some  of  the  best  professional 
talent  that  England  could  supply,  and  we  see  no   reason  why  the  young  sons  of 


io8     New   York  and    Tuxedo   Court -Tennis  and  Players 


the  members  should  not  develop  into  enthusiasts  over  the  sport  and  perhaps  some 
day  produce  a  champion  from  among  them.  Several  of  them  already  show  not 
a  little  promise.  It  will  be  the  duty  of  the  influential  members  of  this  Club  to 
impress  upon  the  Presidents  and  Heads  of  their  old  Universities  and  Schools  the 
necessity  of  introducing  the  Racquet-Games.  America  must  not  lag  behind 
England  here,  especially  as  she  has  her  severe  winters  to  provide  for.  Amer- 
ica can  afford  these  games — there  are 
plenty  of  liberal  patrons  already — and 
she  should  certainly  develop  her  cham- 
pions in  this  as  well  as  in  other  forms  ot 
athletics.  This  she  can  only  do  by  start- 
ing the  players  while  they  are  young. 

The  Amateur  Champion  is  not 
a  born  player  ot  Tennis  and  Racquets. 
He  says  that  at  school  he  was  known  as 
having  the  worst  possible  style  at  Ball- 
Games;  nor  did  those  who  saw  him 
then  have  any  faint  hope  that  his  style 
would  ever  improve.  But,  a  few  years 
ago,  the  veteran  Racquet-Coach  at  Wel- 
lington College  told  him  what  his  faults 
were :  explained  that  he  stood  in  the 
wrong  position,  and  held  his  racket  in 
the  wrong  way.  Even  then,  Miles  tells 
me,  he  could  not  correct  himself:  there 
were  too  many  faults  to  be  corrected. 
He  relied  entirely  on  strength  and  en- 
ergy and  a  good  eye.  So  he  started  to 
alter  each  part  of  the  stroke  by  itself, 
viz.,  the  position  of  the  feet  before  a 
stroke,  the  body-swing,  and  so  on.  He 
used  to  do  hundreds  and  hundreds  of 
special  exercises  morning  after  morning ;  and  these  he  still  continues.  While 
Fiske  Warren  improved  his  play  by  incessant  practice  of  actual  games  in  the 
Court,  Miles  improved  his  play  by  incessant  practice  of  parts  of  strokes  outside 
the  Court.  He  says  that  he  now  does  without  effort  and  unconsciously  what  he 
used  to  do  with  effort  and  consciously.  In  fact,  one  of  the  chief  features  of  his 
game  is  that  he  is  nearly  always  in  position  before  the  ball  comes.  His  stroke 
has  a  free  swing  of  the  body  on  the  hips — somewhat  like  a  golf-swing.  Some 
idea  of  his  progress  can  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that,  before  he  did  these  exer- 


B.  S.  de  Garmendla. 


NetD   York  and    Tuxedo   Court -Tennis  and  Players      log 


cises,   Robert   Moore  used  to  give  him  seven  aces  at  Racquets,  whereas  now  the 
two   play    even;   in    1899   Miles    won   the  open    Competition    in   the    Amateur 
Racquet  Championship  ot   England.      Like   Latham,  he  volleys  and  half-volleys 
very  frec]uently,  and   hits  across   the   court — sometimes   with   a   cut — as  well   as 
down   the  side-walls.      He  says    that   he    owes   a   good   deal   of  his  activity  and 
endurance   at   Racquets   and  Tennis  to   his  diet.      Before   he  gave   up   the   flesh 
and  fish  foods,  about  four  years  ago,  he 
lost   several   important  matches  through 
cramp.      Now    he  can   play   three   hard 
matches  in  a  single  day,  as  he  has  proved 
at  Montreal  and  at  Tuxedo.     But  he  at- 
tributes his   power   of  return   largely  to 
his  morning  practice-exercises. 

His  returns,  and  especially  his  half- 
volleys  and  his  volleys  from  the  back- 
hand court,  are  the  most  marked  char- 
acteristics of  his  play.  He  tries  to  return 
everything.  No  player  uses  the  half- 
volley  or  volley  nearly  so  frequently. 
His  volley  is  hardly  ever  defensive — he 
uses  it  for  attack.  He  puts  on  a  heavy 
cut,  which,  however,  like  Pettitt's  cut, 
is  generally  given  with  the  face  of  the 
racket  below  the  level  of  the  wrist : 
there  is  considerable  twist  as  well  as  cut. 
He  adopts  the  side-wall  sluice  of  Latham, 
and  the  drop-service  of  "Punch"  Fairs. 
These  two  professionals  explained  their 
service  to  the  Amateur,  who  then  pro- 
ceeded to  divide  up  the  movements  into 
parts,  and  to  practise  these  parts  one  by 
one.      His  reason   for   not  adopting  the 

overhead  service  (such  as  Stockton  uses)  is  that  it  is  unlike  the  ordinary  stroke. 
He  says  that  the  side-wall  service  is  in  itself  a  sort  of  Tennis-stroke,  and  that 
therefore  he  who  serves  it  starts  each  time  in  practice,  as  it  were.  He  has  hit 
the  ball  once  in  nearly  the  right  way,  before  his  opponent  has  hit  it  at  all. 
He  considers  the  overhead  service,  however,  to  be  the  most  effective  simply  as 
a  service. 

The  Englishman  is  very  keen  on    Handicaps:   he  can  play  with  a  cricket- 
bat  nearly  within  Thirty  of    his  ordinary  game,  and  he  frequently   bars   all  the 


Hon.  Michael  Herbert. 


1 1 0       New    York  and    Tuxedo   Court  -  Tennis  and  Players 


openings,  or  a 


11  the  walls.  But  in  matches  he  plays  for  the  openings  very  freely, 
except  for  the  Winning  Gallery.  He  is  very  fond  of  the  Grille,  and  it  is  re- 
ported that  he  cannot  get  any  satisfaction  from  the  netting  over  the  Grille, 
because  it  makes  no  noise  when  it  is  struck.  Anyhow  the  Tuxedo  Grille  is 
now  made   ot  wood.      Miles  seldom  forces  straight  for  the  Dedans,  but  usually 

prefers  to  force  off  the  side-wall :  he 
learnt  this  "boasted"  force  from  George 
Lambert,  the  ex-Champion  of  England. 
Miles  thinks  that  very  few,  if  any. 
Amateurs  have  had  such  opportunities 
for  improvement  as  he  has  had.  He  has 
watched  or  played  with  players  of  every 
kind — Lambert,  Saunders,  Latham,  Har- 
radine,  "Punch"  Fairs,  Fennell,  Gray, 
Johnson,  and  others  in  England ;  in 
Australia,  Stone;  in  Hobart,  Homes;  in 
America,  Tompkins  and  Pettitt ;  in  Paris, 
tjott,  to  say  nothing  ot  many  Amateurs 
in  all  these  countries.  And  he  asserts 
most  emphatically  that  there  are  large 
numbers  of  Amateurs  who  would  have 
beaten  him  long  ago  if  they  had  prac- 
tised certain  simple  exercises  outside  the 
court,  and  had  tried  to  give  cramped  odds 
to  weaker  players,  and  had  had  a  more 
varied  experience,  and — had  tried  his  diet!  He  has  many  ambitions.  One 
of  them  is  to  point  out  that  the  three  ball-games.  Squash,  Racquets,  and  Court- 
Tennis,  should  certainly  be  adopted  in  all  great  American  cities  and  universities. 
Squash  must  come  first  everywhere,  partly  because  it  is  the  cheapest  and  simplest 
game,  and  partly  because  it  is  the  best  foundation  for  the  two  other  games. 
Every  school,  whether  for  boys  or  for  girls,  every  university,  and  every  athletic 
club,  should  have  its  Squash-Courts.  Then  the  two  other  games  will'  follow 
inevitably.  He  himself  is  a  living  proof  of  the  appropriateness  of  these  games 
for  the  man  who  works  hard  with  his  brain.  He  has  never  been  out  of  con- 
dition for  a  single  day  in  the  last  four  years,  and  yet  he  has  worked  almost 
incessantly.  In  his  last  year  at  Cambridge  he  taught  about  two  hundred  can- 
didates for  Honors,  contributed  to  several  papers  and  reviews,  and  wrote 
numerous  books. 


Cecil  Baring. 


i^AAj^it-,^  /auCu>% 


COURT-TENNIS  IN  BOS- 
TON AND  ITS  PLAYERS 

FROM  NOTES  COLLECTED  AND  ARRANGED  BY 
GEORGE  RICHMOND  FEARING,  JR.,  AND  L.  M.  STOCKTON 


HE  game  of  Tennis  was  first  played  in  Boston  in  1876  in  a  court 
on  Buckingham  Street,  built  and  owned  by  the  late  HoUis  Hunne- 
well  and  Nathaniel  Thayer.  The  architects  were  G.  R.  and  R. 
G.  Shaw,  and  the  court  was  modelled  on  a  combination  of  the 
plans  of  the  Paris  courts  and  the  court  at  Prince's  Club,  London. 
It  had  top  light  only,  was  built  of  Portland  cement,  and  rested 
directly  on  the  ground.  The  court  was  opened  in  October,  1876,  and  "Teddy" 
Hunt,  previously  employed  at  the  court  at  Oxford,  England,  was  engaged  as 
marker.  Thomas  Pettitt  was  employed  as  boy  to  learn  to  mark  and  look  after 
the  players'  clothes  and  do  other  general  work.  Few  of  the  original  players  had 
ever  played  the  game  before.  Mr.  Hunnewell  had  played  it  in  Paris,  and  it  was 
owing  principally  to  him  that  the  Boston  Court  was  built.  The  first  Tourna- 
ment held  was  in  April,  i  877. 

In  the  first  six  months  after  the  opening  of  the  court,  Pettitt  made  rapid 
progress  in  the  game,  and  became  so  proficient  that,  in  a  match  played  during 
this  April  Tournament,  he  beat  Hunt  level.  This  was  particularly  remarkable, 
as  in  October,  1876,  he  weighed  only  ninety  pounds,  and  the  owners  of  the 
court  felt  some  doubt  as  to  whether  he  was  strong  enough  to  do  the  necessary 
work.  Hunt  was,  at  this  time,  among  the  first  half  dozen  players  in  England, 
the  two  Tompkins  and  George  Lambert  alone  being  clearly  his  superiors.  A 
month  after  this,  Hunt  returned  to  England,  and  Pettitt  took  charge  of  the 
court  as  head  marker.  At  first  he  used  to  play  the  heavily  cut  game  taught  him 
by  Hunt  (the  same  general  kind  of  game  that  Tompkins,  the  New  York  pro- 
fessional, plays  to-day),  and  as  all  his  opponents  were  very  inferior  to  him,  he 
played  them  for  the  most  part  at  cramped  odds  {i.e.,  barring  openings,  half  the 
court,  etc.),  and  by  constant  practice  in  this  way  obtained  remarkable  control 
over  the  ball,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  his  subsequent  game.  Pettitt  has  amply 
proven  that  a  marker  need  never  spoil  his  game  if  he  plays  with  weaker  players 
in  the  right  way. 

In  1880  the  Newport  Casino  was  built,  and  Mr.  Hunnewell  suggested  the 
scheme,  which  was  adopted,  of  erecting  a  Tennis  Court   in   connection  with   it. 


112 


Court-  Tennis  in   Boston  and  Its  Players 


fo 


r  many  years. 


Pettitt  was  engaged  as  marker  during  the  summer,  and  since  that  time  has  had 
charge  of  the  Casino  Tennis  and  Lawn-Tennis  Court,  returning  in  the  winter  to 
resume  his  duties  in  Boston.  In  1883  Pettitt  went  to  England  for  the  first  time 
to  play  Tennis.  No  match  ot  an  international  character  had  been  played  there 
Barre  and  Biboche  had  been  in  the  habit  of  visiting  England 
to  play,  but  had  not  been  there  since 
1870,  and  there  had  been  no  interesting 
international  match  on  even  terms  since 
Barre  played  Edmund  Tompkins  in  1862, 
which  resulted  in  a  draw  after  five  days' 
play.  On  Tuesday,  May  22,  1883,  Pet- 
titt played  his  first  match  in  England 
at  Lord's  against  William  Lambert,  who 
conceded  half  15.  Pettitt  won  easily 
by  a  scorce  of  3 — o,  Lambert  taking  only 
two  games  in  each  set.  This  was  a  great 
surprise  to  English  players,  and  the  Eng- 
lish papers  recognized  the  fact  that  he  was 
capable  of  becoming  a  player  of  the  first 
force,  and  compared  his  game  to  that  ot 
Biboche.  On  the  following  Tuesday  he 
played  Mr.  Lyttelton  even  and  was  beaten 
3  sets  to  I.  He  then  played  John  Tomp- 
kins at  Brighton,  receiving  half  1 5  and 
winning;  J.  Harradine  at  Cambridge  even,  and  winning;  then  going  to  Paris  he 
played  Mr.  Brinquant,  the  best  French  amateur,  conceding  a  bisque,  and  win- 
ning;  George  Cott  even,  and  winning;  and  the  "Bisque"  even,  and  winning. 

He  next  returned  to  Lord's  and  played  against  George  Lambert,  the  Cham- 
pion of  England,  Pettitt  receiving  i  5  tor  a  bisque. 

The  match  lasted  two  hours  and  nineteen  minutes,  and  after  five  sets  resulted 
in  a  victory  for  Pettitt.  Lainbert  won  the  first  two  sets  and  Pettitt  won  the 
third,  chiefly  through  superior  stamina. 

When  Pettitt  went  back  to  the  United  States,  the  English  papers,  after  prais- 
ing his  courage  and  activity,  criticised  his  excessive  use  ot  the  boasted  stroke  and 
his  lack  of  "  cut "  in  his  first  stroke  on  the  floor;  and  said  that  after  careful 
practice  in  these  respects  he  would  be  in  a  position  to  issue  his  challenge  for  the 
Championship  of  Tennis  without  fear  of  the  charge  of  presumption. 

\\\  1884  Pettitt  again  went  to  England  and  played  his  first  match  on  April 
1 9th  at  Brighton  against  George  Lambert,  receiving  1 5  for  a  bisque.  After 
Pettitt  had  won  two  sets  the  match  was  abandoned  on  account  of  Lambert's  ill- 


W.  E.   Glyn. 


Court-  Tennis  in  Boston  and  Its  Players 


113 


ness.      In  the  course  oi  the  month  of  May  he  played  Mr.  Heathcote,   Jim  Har- 
radine,  and   the   Hon.  A.  Lyttelton   level,  winning   in   every  case,  and  in  a  later 
match  gave  Mr.  Lyttelton  half  15  and  beat  him  3  sets  to  2.      He  also  played  C. 
Saunders  at  Lord's,  giving  him  half  15  for  a  bisque  and  winning  3  sets  to  o.      Li 
June  at  Lord's  he  beat  Mr.  Heathcote  and  John  Tompkins,  by  a  score  of  3  to  o, 
and  four  days  afterward  beat  C.  Lambert 
at  Hattield  by  3  sets  to  i,  giving  him  15 
for    a    bisque.      His    first    failure    to    win 
during  this  visit  was  on  June  10th  against 
G.    and    W.    Lambert,    the   score   of  the 
match  being  two  sets  all.      His   only  de- 
feat was  the  last  match  he  played   before 
his   return    to    America.      He    attempted 
to   give   C.    Saunders  half  1 5  at   Prince's 
and  was  defeated  3  sets  to  o.      The  total 
result  of  this  trip  was  that  Pettitt   played 
eleven  matches,  won  nine,  drew  one,  and 
lost  one.      He  played  34  sets  and  won  27. 

Before  leaving  England  Pettitt  pub- 
lished a  challenge  for  the  championship. 
This  was  not  immediately  accepted  by 
Lambert,  who  had  been  ill  for  several 
months ;  but  finally  and  after  much  cor- 
respondence a  match  was  arranged  to  be 

played  at  Hampton  Court,  which  had  the  advantage  of  being  near  London,  and 
of  having  galleries  at  the  top  of  the  end  walls,  so  that  with  the  dedans  and  side- 
galleries,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  spectators  could  see  the  match. 

It  was  played  on  May  11,  13,  and  15,  1885,  and  resulted  in  a  victory  for 
Pettitt  by  a  score  of  7  sets  to  5,  after  a  most  severe  struggle. 

In  the  following  December  Saunders  came  to  America,  and  played  Pettitt 
three  matches  in  the  Buckingham  Street  Court  in  Boston,  Pettitt  giving  him 
15  for  a  bisque.  The  first  day  Pettitt  was  beaten  3 — 2  ;  the  second  he  won 
3 — o;   and  the  third  he  was  again  beaten   3 — 2. 

In  1886  Pettitt  did  not  go  to  England,  and  when  he  went  over  in  1887 
Saunders  had  won  the  championship.  During  the  short  time  (six  weeks)  that 
Pettitt  was  able  to  be  there,  Saunders  was  unfortunately  ill,  so  that  the  two  did 
not  meet.  Pettitt,  however,  played  six  matches,  giving  odds  in  all,  and  being 
beaten  in  only  one — by  Mr.  Heathcote — Pettitt  barring  the  dedans  and  his 
underhand  railroad  service. 

The  next  two  years  in  the  history  of  Tennis,  both  in  America  and  in  Eng- 


Alexander  Morten. 


114 


Court-  Tennis  in  Boston  and  Its  Plaijers 


^^^^gp.;- 


land,  were  uneventful,  and  Pettitt's  next  championship  match  was  not  played  till 
1890,  when  a  match  was  arranged  to  take  place  between  him  and  Saunders,  who 
was  still  the  champion  of  England.  It  was  played  at  Sir  Edward  Guinness's 
Court  at  Dublin.  One  of  the  conditions  was  that  neither  player  should  strike 
a  ball  in  the  court  before  the  match;   and,  as  the  walls  of  the  court  were  built 

of  black  marble,  and  were  entirely  differ- 
ent from  anything  either  player  had  ever 
seen  before,  the  result  was  that  both  play- 
ers misjudged  the  ball  continually  during 
the  first  day  of  play.  Saunders  gained 
knowledge  of  the  court  more  quickly 
than  his  opponent  and  won  on  the  first 
day  3  sets  to  i .  On  the  second  day, 
however,  Pettitt  reversed  the  score,  beat- 
ing Saunders  3  sets  to  i,  and  did  the  same 
on  the  third  day,  winning  the  match  by 
7  sets  to  4. 

The  match  at  Brighton,  in  which 
Latham  defeated  Pettitt  in  every  set,  and 
so  won  the  World's  Championship,  which 
he  still  holds,  is  comparatively  recent  his- 
tory. The  result  was,  to  many,  most  un- 
expected ;  but  it  was  partly  due  to  the 
fact  that  Pettitt  had  had  very  few  oppo- 
nents in  America  or  even  in  England, 
whereas  Latham  had  the  pick  of  all  Eng- 
lish experts. 

In  describing  Boston  Tennis  and  ten- 
nis players  the  foregoing  history  of  Pet- 
titt's career  is  essential,  since  not  only  the 
Boston   players,  but  also   the   present   champion,   Latham,   owe    much    of  their 
game  to  Pettitt. 

Up  to  1889  the  number  of  amateur  players  in  Boston  was  very  limited. 
R.  D.  Sears,  who  in  1892  won  the  amateur  championship  of  America,  began 
the  game  in  the  Buckingham  Street  Court,  but  did  not  really  play  regularly  until 
1889.  On  the  opening  of  the  Boston  Athletic  Association  Court  in  that  year 
he  took  up  the  game  seriously,  and  was  probably  the  first  to  serve  in  this  country 
what  is  now  called  the  over-hand  railroad  service,  which  he  adapted  from  the 
same  service  used  in  lawn-tennis  in  England.  Mr.  Sears  used  to  serve  his  over- 
hand service  rather  slowly,  and  it  generally  hit  the  floor  first  and  broke  sharply 


C.  Lawrence  Perkins. 


George  Richmond  Fearing,  Jr. 
Winner  of  the    'National  Championship  for   Court   Tennis,   iS^J. 


Court-  Tennis  in   Boston   and  Its   Players 


117 


away  from  the  striker-out.  As  it  often  made  nicks  and  seemed  to  be  successful, 
a  number  of  other  players  began  to  use  it,  but  at  this  time  nobody  served  it  for 
speed.  His  general  play  was  very  accurate,  but  not  heavily  cut,  and  not  as  fast 
as  the  modern  game.  It  would  be  interesting  to  compare  his  game  at  its  best 
with  the  games  ot  the  best  modern  amateurs,  but  unfortunately  the  question  as 
to  which  would  win  must  always  remain  a  matter  of  opinion.  Mr.  B.  S.  de 
Garmendia,  a  New  York  player,  another 
of  the  best  amateurs   of  this   time,    and  ' 

winner  of  the  American  Amateur  Cham- 
pionship in  1894  and  1895,  took  up 
tennis  shortly  after  Mr.  Sears  and  pre- 
sented a  great  contrast.  He  served  a  very 
effective  side-wall  service,  played  a  delib- 
erate game,  and  executed  his  strokes  with 
accuracy  and  grace.  His  game  was  the 
ideal  "  jeu  classique  "  for  the  decadence 
of  which  the  French  are  accustomed  to 
lament,  and  his  withdrawing  from  Amer- 
ican play  is  to  be  regretted,  especially  as 
he  was  possessed  of  a  quality  that  Boston 
players  lack,  namely,  command  of  the  ball. 
Mr.  H.  C.  Leeds,  another  player  ot 
prominence  at  this  period,  had  in  a  less 
degree  the  same  qualities  ot  de  Garmen- 
dia, together  with  the  best  possible  judg- 
ment. Another  ot  the  Boston  players 
who  was  in  the  tirst  rank  at  this  time 
was  Fiske  Warren.  He  began  playing 
at  the  Hunnewell  Court  in  1879,  at  the 
age  of  seventeen,  and  continued  until  i 
acquired  his  game  by  constant  practice, 
vard  he  played  every  day  except  Sunday, 
to  make  way  for  the  new  Back  Bay  Station,  he  has  temporarily  at  least  almost 
given  up  the  game,  as  the  Boston  Athletic  Association  rules  do  not  allow  him 
the  time  which  he  finds  necessary  to  keep  up  to  his  standard.  In  about  the 
year  1883  he  had  acquired  a  game  remarkable  for  its  return,  though  deficient  in 
speed  and  accuracy.  Later  he  became  much  more  accurate,  but  his  game  was 
never  what  would  be  termed  to-day  fast.  He  used  considerable  cut  at  times, 
though  his  stroke  would  not  on  the  whole  be  called  heavily  cut.  He  often, 
especially  against   inferior   players,  lobbed   so   that    the    ball   entered    the   dedans 


M.  S.  Barger. 

He  was  never  a  natural  player,  but 
During  his  four-years'  course  at  Har- 
Since  his  court  was  torn  down  in  1897 


ii8 


Court-  Tennis  in   Boston  and  Its  Players 


straight  [a  la  Latham),  or  from  the  floor.  His  play  always  seemed  rather  on 
the  defensive,  and  he  trusted  largely  to  his  great  power  of  return,  and  let  his 
opponent  beat  himself.  He  is  one  of  the  few  Americans  who  have  played  in 
England  against  first-rate  English  players. 

Among   the   other  amateurs  who  played  at  this  time  and  who  were  among 
the  first  few  players  were  Arthur  Hunnewell,  Francis  I.  Amory,  Robert  G.  Shaw, 

R.  B.  Metcalf,  and  Nathaniel  Thayer.  Mr. 
Hunnewell  gave  up  the  game  only  a  year 
or  two  ago,  and  Mr.  Amory  still  plays  it 
from  time  to  time. 

Since  the  opening  of  the  B.  A.  A. 
Court  in  1889,  the  game  has  steadily  grown 
in  popularity.  Of  the  present  Boston  ama- 
teur players  the  best  are  perhaps  G.  R. 
Fearing,  Jr.,  L.  M.  Stockton,  P.  8.  Sears, 
Joshua  Crane,   Jr.,  and  Austin  Potter. 

"  Mr.  Fearing   used   to  be  one   of  the 


best    all-round    athletes   that   Harvard — one 
V  might  almost  add  that  any  place — has  ever 

produced ;    it    was   probably    the    effort    of 
training   and  competing   in   so   many   inter- 
^  university    competitions     (such    as    rowing, 

foot-ball,  and  the  high  jump)  that  caused 
his  serious  illness,  from  which  he  has  never 
properly  recovered.  He  is  one  of  the  few 
American  players  who  have  played  much  in 
France  and  England.  Fearing  serves  the 
underhand  railroad  service  (which  Pettitt 
once  used)  ;  his  game  is  strong  because  oi 
his  enormous  reach,  his  litheness  of  limb, 
his  quick  eye,  and  his  fairly  heavy  cut. 
His  forcing  is  hard,  accurate,  and  well  concealed,  and  his  volleying  is  safe." 
"  Mr.  Stockton  has  the  advantage  of  good  height,  a  powerful  and  flexible 
wrist,  a  terrible  overhand  service  which  will  tire  out  almost  any  opponent,  and 
last  but  not  least,  perfect  equanimity  and  wonderful  judgment  ;  by  this  quality 
I  mean  that  he  knows  exactly  what  balls  to  take  out  and  what  balls  to  leave 
alone.  During  play  he  aims  at  getting  the  length  of  the  court,  and  I  think  he 
finds  the  '  nick  '  oftener  than  any  other  player  I  have  ever  seen.  By  using  his 
wrist-flick  and  not  troubling  about  the  position  of  his  body  [i.e.,  about  'facing 
the  side-wall'),  he  succeeds  in  'masking'   his  stroke,  and   often   puts   on   a  very 


Fiske  Warren. 


Court-  Tennis  in  Boston  and  Its  Players 


iig 


considerable  cut.  By  his  service  he  generally  manages  to  bring  his  oppo- 
nents up  near  the  net,  where  they  are  at  his  mercy ;  he  volleys  well,  and 
forces  hard." 

Mr.  Sears  has,  at  most  times,  a  very  excellent  service,  of  the  overhand  rail- 
road type;  he,  like  his  brother,  is  a  good  volleyer,  but  he  is  somewhat  weak  on 
the  back-hand  side.  His  power  of  return  is  great,  and  he  puts  plenty  of  stuflF 
onto   the  ball   at   times.      He  is  also   very   active. 

Mr.  Austin  Potter  is  the  most  English  of  all 
Boston  players.  His  cut  service  (somewhat  a  la 
Latham),  his  rather  slow  stroke  on  the  floor,  in 
the  severe  cut,  his  graceful  positions,  and  the 
general  "  correctness  "  of  his  game,  should 
make  him  a  great  expert,  if  he  could  only  ac- 
quire a  more  prompt  activity  and  a  more  re- 
liable level  of  play.  At  times  he  makes  very 
brilliant  returns. 

An  absolute  contrast  to  him  is  Mr.  Crane, 
who  volleys  and  halt-volleys  with  a  slashing  cut 
stroke,  and  runs  about  the  court  with  untiring 
and  almost  incredible  activity.  He  never  gives 
up  anything.  If  he  would  steady  down,  he  has 
the  makings  of  a  very  formidable  player.  His 
overhand  service  obtains  a  very  large  number  of 
nicks,  and  seems  quite  as  fast  as  anyone's.  He 
trains  carefully,  and  is  a  great  Polo  player. 

Among  the  players  who  serve  the  overhand 
railroad  service  is  George  T.  Rice.  Mr.  Rice's 
service  is  fairly  effective,  but  he  does  not  vary  its 
speed  sufficiently — he  slashes  around  a  good  deal 
and  often  makes  very  pretty  shots.  His  general 
play  is  too  hard  and  lacks  touch.  He  is  very 
strong  and  active,  but  slow  on  his  feet.      He  has  been  improving  lately,  however. 

In  1890  the  court  of  the  New  York  Racket  and  Tennis  Club,  at  27  West 
Forty-third  Street,  New  York,  was  opened,  and  shortly  afterward  the  American 
Championship  was  instituted.      The  list  of  winners  to  date  is  as  follows  : 


'Joshua   Crane. 


Richard  D.  Sears 1892  G. 

Fiske  Warren 1 893  L. 

B.   S.   de   Garmendia 1894  L. 

B.  S.  de  Garmendia 1895  E. 

L.   M.  Stockton 1896 


R.    Fearing,  Jr 1 897 

M.   Stockton 1898 

M.  Stockton 1 899 

H.  Miles 1900 


120 


Court  -  Tennis  in  Boston  and  Its  Players 


The  first  tennis  balls  used  in  the  Buckingham  Street  Court  were  brought 
from  the  Paris  Court;  later  L.  H.  Mann,  who  had  made  the  league  base-ball, 
was   hired   to  make   tennis   balls,  and   the   ball  made  by  him  is  substantially  the 

tennis  ball  used  in  Boston  at  the  present 
time.  As  time  went  on,  it  became  necessary 
to  hire  an  extra  man  in  the  Buckingham 
Street  Court,  and  one  was  hired  who  could 
take  care  of  the  court  and  at  the  same  time 
make  and  cover  the  balls,  and  since  that  time 
the  balls  have  been  rewound  and  covered  at 
the  courts  in  Boston.  A  number  ot  the  sets 
used  in  the  old  court  are  now  in  use  at  the 
Boston  Athletic  Association  Court.  As  to 
the  best  balls,  there  is  some  difference  of 
opinion.  It  would  be  a  great  thing  for  the 
game  if  a  uniform  ball  could  be  agreed  upon 
by  all  the  courts.  It  is  necessary  to  get  a 
ball  which  is  fairly  fast,  but  on  the  other 
hand  the  English  ball,  which  is  generally  ad- 
mitted to  be  the  fastest,  loses  its  shape  very 
quickly.  The  English  ball  is,  of  course,  in 
much  more  general  use  than  any  other,  and 
it  will  be  hard  to  make  any  change  in  Eng- 
land, although  it  is  rumored  that  Prosser  is  at  present  trying  to  construct  a  ball 
on  the  principle  of  a  racket  ball,  made  largely  of  string,  which  can  be  re- 
wound and  re-covered  ;  but  his  balls  so  far  have  been  too  hard  ;  at  present  it 
seems  probable  that  the  kind  used  in  Boston,  which  is  made  on  the  same  prin- 
ciple as  the  proposed  Prosser  ball,  is  the  best.  It  is  fast  enough,  it  never  loses  its 
shape,  and  it  can  be  used  without  re-covering  until  it  becomes  too  dirty  to  see. 

The  Brouaye  racket  has  always  been  the  favorite  in  Boston.  Prosser  began 
to  make  tennis  rackets  in  1885,  and  in  1890  they  were  first  tried  in  Boston,  but 
did  not  prove  a  success.  Since  then  they  seem  to  have  been  improving,  and  a 
number  of  players  use  them  to-day.  All  the  makers  of  lawn-tennis  rackets  have 
tried  to  make  court-tennis  rackets,  but  none  of  them  have  been  successful.  The 
ideal  racket  would  be  one  made  of  the  same  seasoned  wood  of  which  the  Brouaye 
is  made,  and  possibly  a  little  wider,  and  very  much  straighter.  The  Brouaye 
racket  has  changed  very  little  in  shape  during  the  last  thirty  years.  On  the 
whole,  however,  in  spite  of  its  bend,  it  is  probably  still  the  most  satisfactory. 


Robert  Bacon. 


RACQUETS  IN  NEW  YORK 
AND     ITS     PLAYERS 

BY    EDWARD    LA    MONTAGNE 


HE   first  Racquet  Court  I  found  in   New  York  was  in  1848.      It 

Cwas  located  in  Allen  Street,  off  the  Bowery,  and  I  was  told  it  was 
one  of  the  English  relics.  The  dimensions  were  100  feet  long 
by  36  wide  ;  there  was  no  back  wall,  but  simply  lines  on  the 
floor.      The  service  was  trom  a  ring  in   the  centre  of  the  court; 

J   you  had  to  serve  over  the  line  which  crossed  the  ring  30  feet  from 

the  front  wall,  and  then  inside  a  back  line  about  80  feet  from  the  front  wall. 
Service  was  good  only  when  within  these  lines.  I  played  important  matches 
in  the  Allen  Street  Court,  and  several  with  the  then  crack  player,  Robert  Knox. 
The  game  in  such  a  long,  wide  court  was  so  different  to  what  I  had  been  used 
to  in  the  English  courts  that  it  took  me  some  time  to  catch  on.  However, 
after  a  while  I  won  the  majority  of  important  matches. 

About  1850  a  splendidly  appointed  club-house,  with  Racquet  Court,  baths, 
bowling-alleys,  billiard-room,  etc.,  was  built  by  Mr.  Richard  Carman  on  the 
east  side  of  Broadway,  between  Prince  and  Houston.  The  court  had  been 
modelled  as  to  dimensions,  etc.,  after  the  Allen  Street  one.  The  club  was  known 
as  the  "  Broadway  Racquet  Club,"  and  numbered  over  two  hundred  members. 
Racquet  playing  became  very  popular,  the  majority  of  the  best  young  men  of 
the  day  being  seen  every  day  in  the  court.  Beverley  Robinson,  Robert  and 
Newbold  Edgar,  John  A.  Post,  and  William  J.  Emmet  were  among  the 
most  proficient  players,  but,  the  game  being  comparatively  new,  none  of  them, 
though  showing  great  improvement,  excelled.  I  played  a  match  with  Beverley 
Robinson,  the  then  best  player,  and  won  easily.  The  galleries  were  filled  with 
the  fashionable  people  of  the  city,  including  many  ladies,  who  seemed  to  take 
much  interest  in  the  game.  Besides  Racquets  and  other  games.  Whist  was  a 
great  feature  in  the  club,  and  was  patronized  daily  by  such  men  as  Commodore 
Vanderbilt,  Frank  Work,  the  Whitneys,  the  Emmets,  etc. 

In  1854,  at  the  solicitation  of  a  number  of  gentlemen,  I  built  a  court  as 
an  investment,  in  Thirteenth  Street  near  Sixth  Avenue,  being  guaranteed  seven 
per  cent,  on  my  outlay  for  four  years.  A  regular  club  was  formed  under  the 
name  of  "The  Gymnasium  Club,"  with  the  following  officers: 


122 


Racquets  in  New   York  and  Its  Players 


The  above  officers  and 
William  H.  Leroy, 
W.  Butler  Duncan, 
Charles  H.  Castle, 
Newbold  Edgar, 
P.  V.  Duflon, 
Alfred  W.  Craven, 


Officers  of  the  Club. 
President,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet. 
Secretary,  Auguste  La  Montagne. 
Treasurer,  D.  Lydig  Suvdam. 

Governing  Committee. 
Robert  W.  Edgar, 
W.  J.  Emmet, 
W.  H.  Church, 
Walden  Pell, 
J.  Watson  Averell, 
Francis  Fox, 
Robert  Emmet, 


J.  T.  Farish, 

W.  H.  Major, 

R.  S.  Hone, 

R.  Oliver  Colt, 

Louis  Borg, 

JVIurray  HofFman,  Jr., 

Joseph  Grafton. 


The  court  was  roofed  and  of  the  proper  dimensions,  70  feet  by  30,  with 
back  wall  and  two  galleries  for  spectators.  The  front  wall  was  of  polished 
stone,  the  sides  cemented,  and  the  Hoor  ot  Georgia  pine.  It  was  in  this  court 
that  William  Gray  (then  champion  ot  England)  played  a  match  with  our  Rac- 
quet Master,  Fred.  Foulkes,  the  best  of  seven  games  ot  titteen  aces  each,  which 
Gray  won  after  a  close  match. 

After  tour  years  ot  a  prosperous  club  I  sold  the  building,  and  it  became  a 
public  court.  About  1870  a  club  was  formed,  and  two  courts  with  regular  club- 
houses were  built  by  Mr.  A.  S.  Thorp,  at  the  corner  of  Twenty-sixth  Street  and 
Sixth  Avenue.  A  suitable  rent  was  paid  to  the  owner,  and  for  many  years  the 
club  was  a  great  success.  The  followino;  is  a  list  of  the  names  of  the  officers 
and   Governing   Committee   of  the  New  York   Racquet   Court   Club,  as  it  was 

then  known : 

President,  William  R.  Travers. 
Vice-President,  Rutherfurd  Stuyvesant. 
Secretary,  F.  K.  Sturgis. 
Treasurer,  J.  T.  Soutter. 


William  R.  Travers, 
Rutherfurd  Stuyvesant, 
Edward  La  Montagne, 
A.  Wright  Sanford, 
Charles  G.  Francklyn, 
Henry  L.  Burnett, 


Governing  Committee. 
John  A.  Lowery, 
William  Watts  Sherman, 
Matthew  Morgan, 
George  S.  Bowdoin, 
Roland  Redmond, 
Isaac  Bell,  Jr., 


Edward  G.  Field, 
Frederic  Bronson, 
Henry  C.  Babcock, 
James  Gordon  Bennett, 
Frederick  R.  Halsey, 
Frank  K.  Stureis. 


It  was  here  that  Joseph  Gray  played  a  match  for  ^5°°  -^  ^^*^^  with  Henry 
Boakes,  the  marker  ot  the  Quebec  Court,  the  stakes  having  been  made  up  by 
subscriptions  among  the  members.  Boakes  should  have  won  the  match,  being 
3  games  out  of  7  to  o,  but  suddenly  the  thought  of  beating  the  English  cham- 
pion caused  him  to  become  nervous.  He  lost  the  last  tour  games  and  match, 
much  to  the  surprise  of  his  backers. 


Edward  La  Montagne. 


I(acquets  in   New    York  and  Its  Players 


125 


The  present  club-house,  to  which  the  club  moved  in  1890,  is  too  well 
known  to  need  description.  It  has  been  the  scene  of  some  splendid  matches, 
notably  the  two  which  Peter  Latham  won  from  George  Standing,  the  present 
Racquet  Master  of  the  Racquet  and  Tennis  Club. 

I  have  not  witnessed  many  of  the  amateur  matches  in  the  last  three  or 
four  years,  and  the  classification  of  the  different  players  therefore  is  based  on 
notes  which  I  collected  tor  the  purpose. 
The  principal  fault  of  our  young  players 
is  their  over-eagerness  and  impetuosity. 
During  the  many  years  in  which  Spald- 
ing de  Garmendia  won  the  champion- 
ship he  was  certainly  head  and  shoulders 
above  everyone.  His  service  was  not 
fast,  but  it  had  the  proper  length,  with 
a  strong  cut,  and  he  played  with  a  good 
deal  of  head.  He  was  beaten,  however, 
by  Mr.  Ashworth,  the  then  champion 
amateur  of  England,  who  paid  his  first 
visit  to  America  in  1892.  Tooker,  who 
was  the  closest  to  De  Garmendia,  played 
a  brilliant  and  severe  game.  He  was 
remarkably  active,  but  he  lacked  cool- 
ness, so  indispensable  to  a  first-class  Rac- 
quet player.  Clarence  H.  Mackay  is 
practically  scratch  man  of  the  New 
York    Club,   and    is   handicapped    under 

the  Bagnale-VVilde  system,  which  is  now  universally  used,  at  minus  four.  He 
is  remarkably  active  and  quick  and  accounted  a  good  all-round  player,  with 
no  weakness  in  backhand  or  volley,  and  his  forehand  stroke  is  particularly 
deadly  and  straight — good  players  know  how  essential  this  is.  Next  to  Mackay 
would  come  W.  B.  Dinsmore,  Jr.,  who  is  handicapped  at  minus  one.  If  he 
were  a  little  quicker  on  his  feet  he  would  undoubtedly  rank  higher,  as  he  is  a 
graceful,  stylish  player  with  a  splendid  wrist  flick,  and  to  forehand  and  back- 
hand strokes,  which  are  wellnigh  perfect,  he  adds  a  very  severe  service  and 
good  judgment. 

M.  S.  Barger  is  handicapped  at  scratch,  and  might  be  called  a  good  all- 
round  player,  with  an  unusually  effective  forehand  stroke  and  a  good  service, 
who  is  occasionally  a  little  erratic  in  his  play  and  is  weakest  on  the  backhand 
stroke. 

Edv/ard   La   Montague,  Jr.,  ranks  well   up   among   the  good   players.      He 


Clarence  H.  Mackay. 


126  l^acquets  in   New    York  and  Its  Players 


has  a  splendid  forehand  stroke  and  is  a  brilUant  hnisher  with  a  fast,  styUsh  ser- 
vice, though  he  is  hable  to  push  the  balL  His  backhand  stroke  sometimes 
places  him  at  a  disadvantage. 

After  these  would  probably  come  Morton  Paton,  Maurice  La  Montagne, 
C.  Lawrence  Perkins,  D.  Crawford  Clark,  and  G.  C.  Clark,  Jr.,  who  are  prac- 
tically on  a  par  as  far  as  classification  can  be  made.  Morton  Paton  and  Maurice 
La  Montagne  are  good  all-round  players,  with  a  good  forehand  stroke  and  a  fair 
backhand  stroke,  who  play  for  length  in  service  and  are  considered  the  best  of 
partners  in  a  four-handed  game.  C.  Lawrence  Perkins  is  considered  a  beautiful 
drop  player,  with  a  splendid  forehand  stroke,  and  an  active  but  cool  player.  The 
backhand  is  a  little  weak,  and  the  service  leaves  something  to  be  desired. 

Another  player  who  gives  promise  of  more  than  ordinary  attainment  is 
Mr.  Harold  F.  McCormack.  His  work  is  speedy  and  he  certainly  has  a  fine 
stroke,  both  on  the  forehand  and  backhand.      His  service  is  unusually  strong. 

D.  Crawford  Clark  has  a  fine  backhand  and  uses  it  very  effectively,  and  his 
service  is  also  good.  He  is  considered  a  good  all-round  player,  and  especially 
so  at  the  four-handed  game.  G.  C.  Clark,  Jr.,  is  rather  better  known  as  a 
golfer,  and  is  practically  a  beginner  at  Racquets,  but  he  already  shows  a  form 
that  seems  to  destine  him  some  day  for  championship  honors.  He  has  a  splen- 
did backhand  stroke  and  a  good  service,  but  his  forehand  stroke  at  present  has  a 
little  too  much  swing.  The  New  York  Club  has  among  its  players  a  large  per- 
centage of  men  in  business,  and  does  not  draw  on  colleges  to  any  appreciable 
extent,  whereas  in  Boston  the  younger  element  predominates  among  the  players. 

Guy  Phelps  Dodge,  Ford  Huntington,  and  Erskine  Hewitt  might  be  classed 
together.  The  first  is  a  speedy  player  with  a  fast  service.  His  backhand  stroke 
is  somewhat  weak  and  his  forehand  inclined  to  be  "jerky."  Mr.  Hewitt's  back- 
hand stroke  is  a  little  cramped,  but  he  has  a  splendid  service,  a  good  wrist  stroke, 
and  the  forehand  stroke  is  very  good.  Mr.  Huntington  shows  to  good  advan- 
tage in  match  play.  He  is  equally  good  on  the  forehand  or  backhand  stroke, 
but  his  service  leaves  something  to  be  desired. 

J.  C.  Gifix)rd,  like  Mr.  McCormack,  comes  from  Chicago,  and  is  a  hus- 
tling, "  get-there  "  kind  of  player,  who  uses  good  judgment.  He  is  not  so  speedy 
a  player  as  Mr.  McCormack,  but  he  volleys  well  and  uses  the  side-wall  to 
advantage. 


^^^^/^^^^^^£< 


THE  BOSTON  RAC- 
QUET   PLAYERS 

BY   H.    H.    HUNNEWELL,    JR. 


ACQUETS  began  at  the  B.  A.  A.  in  1889  under  Thomas  Pettitt, 
who,  although  unfamiUar  with  the  game  at  that  time,  soon  picked 
it  up.  The  players  came  naturally  from  those  who  played  in  the 
tennis-courts.  The  first  championship  game  between  New  York 
and  Boston  was  held  in  Boston  in  1890,  when  De  Garmendia 
defeated  R.  D.  Sears.  From  then  until  after  1897  De  Garmen- 
dia was  still  the  best  racquet  player  in  America,  and  won  the  championships  in 
succession,  with  the  exception  of  those  in  1892  and  1895,  when  he  did  not 
enter,  and  the  prize  fell  to  Mr.  Tooker,  who  was  the  next  best  player  in  the 
country.  Tooker  began  playing  in  New  York,  but  most  of  his  playing  was 
done  in  Boston  while  he  was  at  Harvard. 

In  1891  Mr.  Hunnewell  *  began  to  take  up  racquets  seriously,  and  in  1892 
he  defeated  R.  D.  Sears  for  the  club  championship,  but  failed  to  win  the 
national  championship  in  that  year,  which,  as  previously  stated,  fell  to  Mr. 
Tooker.  He  also  won  the  club  championship  in  1893,  but  in  this,  as  in  the 
club  championship  of  the  previous  year,  he  did  not  have  Mr.  Tooker  as  a  com- 
petitor. In  1894,  1895,  ^^'i  1896,  Mr.  Tooker  again  won  the  club  champion- 
ship, with  Mr.  Hunnewell  as  runner-up  in  each  year.  In  1897  Mr.  Hunnewell 
won  the  club  championship,  with  Q.  A.  Shaw,  Jr.,  as  runner-up. 

In  1898  Q.  A.  Shaw,  Jr.,  began  playing  and  won  the  club  championship, 
but  was  defeated  in  the  American  championship  of  that  year  by  F.  F.  Rolland, 
the  Canadian  champion.  Mr.  Shaw  was  a  very  young  beginner  to  have  played 
so  splendid  a  game,  and  it  is  generally  conceded  that  he  is  the  most  brilliant 
player  in  America.  There  is  much  in  common  between  the  game  of  Tooker 
and  Shaw,  both  playing  in  very  brilliant  style,  both  having  very  severe  services, 
and  both,  when  on  their  games,  killing  the  ball  with  great  severity,  speed,  and 
accuracy.  In  1899  both  the  club  and  American  championships  were  won  by 
Mr.  Shaw,  practically  within  a  year  after  having  begun  to  play  the  game.  In 
1900  Mr.  George  R.  Fearing,  Jr.,  won  the  club  championship  from  Mr.  Shaw, 
but  it  is  perhaps  only  fair  to  say  that  Mr.  Shaw  had  not  been   playing  for  two 

*  The  criticisms  of  Mr.  Hunnewell  were  furnished  by  Mr.  Pettitt. 


128  The  Boston  I{acquet  Players 

months.  This  is  not  to  depreciate  Mr.  Fearing's  game,  for  there  are  not  many 
people  who  can  give  him  points. 

Mr.  R.  D.  Sears  was  a  very  careful  player  though  a  slow  one,  using  his 
head  and  agility  to  the  best  advantage,  but  he  lacked  severity  and  the  power  of 
killing  the  ball. 

Mr.  Hunnewell  and  Mr.  Fearing  have  probably  more  return  than  any  two 
men  playing  racquets  to-day — there  is  nothing  can  get  by  them.  Mr.  Hunne- 
well's  forehand  stroke  is  severe,  but  he  is  weak  in  volleying.  Mr,  Fearing  plays 
a  similar  game  to  Mr.  Hunnewell,  but  he  is  more  sure  of  himself  and  is  stronger 
on  the  forehand  volley. 

Payne  Whitney  has  only  been  playing  a  year,  but  he  is  already  very  close 
to  Mr.  Shaw.  He  is  a  very  sure  player  with  excellent  judgment,  and  depends 
considerably  on  his  forehand  stroke  and  volley.  With  more  speed  in  his  back- 
hand stroke,  he  bids  fair  to  enter  for  championship  honors  in  the  near  future. 

Austin  Potter  is  a  brilliant  player,  very  strong  o\\  volleys  and  hali-volleys 
and  a  fast  hitter.  With  a  little  more  enthusiasm  and  care  in  his  game  there  is 
no  reason  why  he  should  not  play  well  up  among  the  good  players.  With  Mr. 
Whitney  and  Mr.  Stackpole,  these  three  men  constitute  the  future  hope  of  the 
B.  A.  A.  Like  Mr.  Whitney,  Mr.  Stackpole  has  only  played  this  year,  but  he 
has  shown  rapid  improvement  and  is  fairly  in  the  same  class  with  Mr.  Potter. 
His  strong  points  are  his  service  and  his  forehand  volley. 


,   J\l.    JVU,<>t.<,<.^wC^ 


H.   H.   Hunnewell,  Jr. 
Winner  of  the   Club    Championship  for  Racquets,   B.    A.    A.,   iSc)/. 


Alfred  Tompkins. 


The  Marker  s  Court. 


RACQUETS  AND  RACQUET 
PLAYERS  AT  PHILADELPHIA 

FROM   NOTES    FURNISHED    BY 
WALTER     ROGERS     FURNESS 


ILL    1889   Philadelphia  had  no   Racquet  Court,  but  only  a  small 

C  court,   on    Carpenter    Street,    where    Hand-Fives    and   Squash   or 

Bat-Fives  were  played.  In  this  year  a  club  was  formed,  having 
as  its  chief  officers  Messrs.  Richard  W.  Clay,  William  Welsh, 
Jr.,  Edward  E.  Denniston,  and  A.  J.  D.  Dixon.  The  club,  at 
a  cost  of  over  $27,000,  turned  an  old  colonial  house  into  two 
full-sized  Racquet  Courts.  One  of  these  is  now  the  fastest  and  perhaps  the 
best-lighted  in  America.  Mr.  Clay  was  succeeded  as  President  by  Mr.  Welsh, 
and  he  by  Mr.  J.  M.  Fox,  and  he  in  turn  by  Mr.  James  Potter,  whom  the 
club  is  fortunate  in  still  having  as  its  President  to-day.  Among  the  other  offi- 
cers are  Messrs.  W.  L.  Elkins,  T.  J.  Dolan,  and  J.  R.  Evans  Roberts;  the  Gov- 
ernors are  Messrs.  M.  L.  Parrish,  F.  Bain,  J.  C.  M.  Shirk,  H.  Morris,  F.  E. 
Brewster,  G.  F.  Jordan,  E.  I.  Smith,  B.  H.  Warburton,  and  W.  R.  Furness. 
The  Racquet  Committee  consists  of  Messrs.  Furness,  Parrish,  and  S.  W.  Ffoulkes. 
The  club  is  now  in  a  very  flourishing  condition,  thanks  to  the  able  manage- 
ment of  Mr.  James  Potter  and  others  ;  it  includes  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine 
resident  members,  and  has  paid  off  all  its  debts.  Besides  Racquets — which  forms 
the  main  feature  of  the  club — Bridge-Whist  is  very  popular,  and  some  ot  the  most 
expert  players  in  America  are  among  the  members.  It  has  recently  been  decided 
to  add  a  Squash  Court,  and  the  funds  for  the  purpose  have  been  subscribed. 

It  was  Philadelphia  that  started  the  Inter-Club  Doubles  Championship  at 
Racquets,  the  prize  being  a  challenge  trophy — a  perfectly  modelled  racket  in 
silver,  of  full  size  and  exact  weight  and  proportions.  It  was  first  won  by 
Messrs.  Q.  A.  Shaw,  Jr.,  and  H.  H.  Hunnewell,  Jr.,  of  the  Boston  Athletic 
Association. 

In  January,  19CO,  Philadelphia  witnessed  one  of  the  best  and  most  exciting 
doubles  ever  played  in  this  country  or  anywhere.  In  this  the  English  cham- 
pions, Peter  Latham  and  Eustace  H.  Miles,  defeated  the  two  best  American 
players,  George  Standing  and  Tom  Pettitt,  by  four  games  to  three.  Just  before 
this  game  a  New  York  pair,  Messrs.  Morton  Paton  and  M.  La  Montagne,  beat 
a  Philadelphia  pair,  Messrs.  Edgar  and  Hugh  Scott,  by  four  games  to  two. 


132 


Racquets  and  I(acquet  Players  at  Philadelphia 


The  club  keeps  up  a  growing  interest  in  the  game  by  its  monthly  handi- 
cap prizes,  as  well  as  by  these  numerous  matches.  The  result  is  that  there  are 
many  members  who  show  not  only  great  keenness  but  also  great  promise. 

Mr.  Hugh  D.  Scott  is  considered  by  many  competent  judges  to  be  the 
best  Racquet  player  in  Philadelphia,  and  to  this  distinction  he  certainly  has  some 
very  just  claims,  as  regards  both  his  service  and  his  court  playing. 

His  service  is  switt,  well  into  the  corner,  and  under  control  ;  his  stroke  sel- 
dom hits  the  wall  high.  The  stroke  in  which  he  excels  other  Racquet  players 
in  Philadelphia  is  the  half-volley  ;  this  he  makes  equally  certain  either  fore- 
hand or  backhand.  He  possesses  one  of  the  almost  essential  requisites  for  a 
first-class  player — viz.,  stamina  ;  tor  he  can  play  live  fast  games  of  singles  and 
strike  as  hard  and  as  surely  at  the  end  as  he  did  at  the  beginning  of  the  match. 

In  doubles  his  team  play  is  good  ;  he  seems  to  know  intuitively  when  the 
ball  leaves  his  adversary's  bat,  whether  it  should  be  played  by  his  partner  or 
by  himself. 

His  weak  point  is  his  backhand  stroke,  which  lacks  the  snap  and  vigor  of 
his  forehand  stroke  ;  but,  as  Mr.  Scott  is,  comparatively  speaking,  a  young  player, 
this  defect  will  no  doubt  be  corrected. 

Mr.  Edgar  Scott,  having  played  Racquets  and  Tennis  from  his  boyhood 
up  and  in  many  courts,  has  developed  a  game  which  will  defeat  a  stronger  and 
harder  player  than  himself.  He  has  learned  the  rare  and  difficult  art  of  hitting 
softly  ;  when  taking  a  ball  on  the  volley  he  can  drop  it  gently,  or  nick  it  skil- 
fully into  a  corner,  entirely  out  of  the  reach  of  even  an  active  adversary.  Never- 
theless, when  the  occasion  arises,  Mr.  Scott  can  hit  with  astonishing  force  and 
swiftness,  employing  many  Court-Tennis  strokes  which  could  not  be  used  by  a 
player  of  Racquets  alone.  His  great  reach,  both  of  leg  and  arm,  allows  him 
to  cover  the  court  well  ;  this,  combined  with  an  accurate  eye,  makes  him  a 
dangerous  adversary.  His  service  is  underhand,  with  a  peculiar  and  (to  most 
people)  a  very  annoying  twist. 

In  doubles  his  play  is  cool  and  accurate  when  he  is  playing  in  practice 
games,  though  in  large  matches  he  is  apt  to  become  over-eager  and  therefore 
hardly  does  himself  justice;  but  this  is  a  fault  that  can  be  readily  remedied  by 
a  little  more  match  play. 

Mr.  Newbold  Etting's  natural  aptitude  for  all  athletic  sports,  his  great 
physical  strength,  his  knowledge  of  the  angles  of  the  court,  and  his  backhand 
service  into  the  right  court,  with  its  excellent  length  and  hard  cut,  put  him  in 
the  front  rank  of  Philadelphian  Racquet  players.  His  weakness  consists  partly 
in  the  extent  to  which  his  game  is  apt  to  vary,  and  partly  in  the  fact  that  he  is 
apt  to  trust  too  much  to  his  opponent  doing  just  the  right  thing  in  a  double — a 
mistake   often    made   by  whist   players  whose   partners  are  not  quite  so  good  as 


I^acquets  and  I^acquet  Plai/ers  at  Philadelphia  ijj 

they  themselves  are.  For  Mr.  Etting  has  studied  the  theory  of  Racquets,  and  has 
practised  the  game,  more  assiduously  than  anyone  else  in  Philadelphia. 

The  play  ot  Mr.  James  Potter  is  noteworthy,  not  so  much  for  its  brill- 
iancy as  for  its  extreme  steadiness  ;  whether  contending  with  an  inferior  player 
or  in  an  important  match,  his  game  is  uniformly  smooth  and  careful. 

Having  played  even  before  the  organization  of  the  Racquet  Club,  he  has 
perhaps  a  better  practical  knowledge  of  the  game  than  has  any  player  in  Phila- 
delphia. Though  he  is  a  large  and  rather  heavy  man,  his  ability  to  cover  the 
court  when  playing  in  singles  is  a  constant  cause  of  astonishment  to  his  adver- 
sary. His  service  is  too  swift  to  show  much  "  cut,"  but  to  make  up  for  this  it 
has  an  almost  perfect  length.  One  very  noticeable  feature  of  Mr.  Potter's  play 
is  his  manner  of  turning  suddenly  when  receiving  a  heavily  cut  service,  and  then 
playing  the  ball  with  absolute  precision  and  great  strength.  Mr.  Potter  does 
not  greatly  rely  on  the  volley,  but  prefers,  when  possible,  to  take  the  ball  from 
the  floor,  playing  it  very  hard  and  but  a  few  inches  above  the  "  tell-tale." 


V  (x)Ja^^^ '^^'^^sv^^ 


RECORDS  OF  WINNERS 


NEW  YORK 

Racquet  Club  Championships 

1876  Edw.  La  Montagne 

1877  Geo.  C.  Allen 

1878  J.  T.  Soutter 

1879  Edw.  L.  Montague 

1880  Geo.  C.  Allen 

1881  David  Lydig 

1882  L.  M.  Rutherfurd,  Jr. 

1883  L.  M.  Rutherfurd,  Jr. 

1884  William  Shippen 

1885  L.  M.  Rutherfurd,  Jr. 

1886  Philip  Allen 

1887  C.  Lawrence  Perkins 

1888  B.  S.  de  Garmendia 

1889  B.  S.  de  Garmendia 

1890  B.  S.  de  Garmendia 

1 89 1  J.  S.  Tooker 

1892  Edw.  La  Montagne,  Jr. 

1893  B.  S.  de  Garmendia 

1894  B.  S.  de  Garmendia 

1895  C.  Lawrence  Perkins 

1896  Valentine  G.  Hall 

1897  B.  S.  de  Garmendia 

1898  J.  S.  Hoyt 

1899  W.  B.  Dinsmore 

1900  C.  W.  Mackay 

Court  Tennis  Club  Champion- 
ships 


1892 

1893 
1894 

1895 
1896 

1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 


B.  S. 
B.  S. 
B.  S. 
B.  S. 
E.  A. 
E.  A. 
E.  A. 
E.  A. 
O.  S. 


de  Garmendia 
de  Garmendia 
de  Garmendia 
de  Garmendia 

Thomson 

Thomson 

Thomson 

Thomson 

Campbell 


BOSTON 

PHILADELPHL\ 

Racquet   Club  Championships 

Racquets — Handicap  Singles 

1890  R.  D.  Sears 

First  Class 

1 89 1   J.  S.  Tooker 

1892    H.  H.  Hunnewell,  Jr. 

1891 

Chas.  Bohlen 

1893    H.  H.  Hunnewell,  Jr. 

1892 

F.  H.  Bohlen 

1894  J.  S.  Tooker 

1893 

W.  W.  Noble 

1895  J.  S.  Tooker 

1894 

Paul  Thompson 

1896  J.  S.  Tooker 

1895 

Wm.  E.  Bates 

1897   H.  H.  Hunnewell,  Jr. 

1896 

Wm.  E.  Bates 

1898   0.  A.  Shaw,  Jr. 

1897 

Edgar  Scott 

1899  0.  A.  Shaw,  Jr. 

1898 

G.  S.  Patterson 

1900   G.  R.  Fearing,  Jr. 

1900 

Jno.  B.  Thayer,  Jr. 

1901    Edgar  Scott 


Court  Tennis  Club  Champion- 

Second  Class 

ships 

1891 

W.  W.  Noble 

1889 

H.  Emmons 

1892 

Wm.  E.  Bates 

1890 

R.  D.  Sears 

1893 

F.  W.  Morris,  Jr. 

1891 

R.  D.  Sears 

1894 

T.  L.  Harrison 

1892 

H.  C.  Leeds 

1895 

Edgar  Scott 

1893 

Fiske  Warren 

1896 

Geo.  T.  Newhall 

1894 

G.  R.  Fearing, 

Jr. 

1897 

R.  Furness 

1895 

G.  R.  Fearing, 

Jr. 

1898 

Geo.  H.  Brooke 

1896 

G.  R.  Fearing, 

Jr. 

1900 

T.  F.  Furness 

1897 

G.  R.  Fearing, 

Jr. 

1901 

S.  K.  Reeves 

1898  L.  M.  Stockton 

1899  G.  R.  Fearing,  Jr. 

1900  G.  R.  Fearing,  Jr. 


Racqliet  Doubles 

1899  Newbold  Etting  and  Hugh 

D.  Scott 

1900  Hugh  D.  Scott  and  Lyn- 

ford  Biddle 


POLO  IN  AMERICA 

POLO  IN  ENGLAND 

POLO  PONIES 

JOHN  E.  COWDIN 

FOXHALL  KEENE 

H.  L  HERBERT 


International  Polo   Challenge  Cup. 

Won    by    the    Hurlingham    Tcnm    at    Newport. 


POLO    IN    AMERICA 

BY  JOHN  E.    COW  DIN 


AM  an  enthusiast  on  the  subject  of  polo,  but  it  is  my  sober  judg- 
ment that  there  is  no  game  Uke  it  in  the  world.  I  know  of  no 
game  so  exhilarating,  or  one  that  combines  so  many  sterling 
qualities.  In  the  first  place  it  requires  good  horsemanship  — 
you  have  got  to  ride  in  polo  whether  you  will  or  no :  the  game 
obliges  it — -a  cool  head,  lots  of  dash,  a  faculty  of  thinking  and 
acting  very  quickly,  a  good  eye,  and  a  good  physique  to  stand  the  strain  of  a 
severe  match. 

Polo  is  a  game  of  great  antiquity.  We  know  that  it  was  played  in  Persia 
a  thousand  years  ago.  Golf,  hockey,  football,  and  croquet  are  variations  of  the 
same  game.  It  is  quite  generally  believed  that  the  Indian  home  of  polo  is  in 
the  country  of  the  Munnipoories,  up  in  the  northeast  corner  of  India,  on  the 
border  of  Burmah.  Their  children  commence  practising  the  game  on  foot  and 
on  horseback  at  a  very  early  age,  and  the  name  they  give  to  it  is  Kan-jai-bazee. 
Their  ponies  are  only  about  twelve  to  thirteen  and  a  half  hands  high,  and  the 
usual  number  of  players  is  seven,  though  there  are  sometimes  as  many  as  fifteen 
on  a  side.  They  have  a  "back,"  a  "half-back,"  a  "No.  i,"  and  the  others 
constitute  themselves  "forward"  players.  The  game  is  played  very  much  in 
pairs,  and  there  is  no  such  thing  as  "off-side."  In  practice  games  they  prefer 
to  ride  bare-back,  and  the  game  with  them  is  fast  and  furious.  Major-Gen- 
eral  Sherer,  the  veteran  Indian  player,  took  his  team  up  into  their  country  in 
1865,  after  a  series  of  victories  in  Calcutta,  and  according  to  his  own  account 
his  men  were  simply  "nowhere" — his  team  never  won  a  single  game.  Their 
strong  point  was  in  striking  the  ball  and  using  the  stick,  for  they  were  not  supe- 
rior to  the  English  in  riding.  They  have  three  strokes  on  the  right  side,  three 
strokes  on  the  left  side,  and  they  frequently  hit  the  ball  in  air  by  taking  both 
hands  and  allowing  the  reins  to  fall  on  the  horse's  neck — besides  which  they  have 
a  lot  of  fancy  strokes,  all  of  which  imply  a  great  deal  of  practice.  If  anyone, 
the  Munnipoories  are  certainly  lords  of  the  game;  it  is  the  uppermost  thought 
in  the  minds  of  the  men,  and  some  have  been  known  to  pawn  their  wives  in 
order  to  purchase  a  particular  pony.  I  have  introduced  mention  of  the  Munni- 
poories because  it  seems  to  me  that  they  may  in  a  way  be  considered  authorities 
on  the  game,  and  in  the  matter  of  hooking  mallets  and  off-side,  wherein  our 
game  differs  from  the  English  game,  we  have  the  Munnipoories  with  us. 

The   game  was  introduced   into  America   in   the  early  part  of  1876.      Mr. 


ijs 


Polo  in  America 


James  Gordon  Bennett  at  this  time  was  doing  more  for  the  advancement  of  legit- 
imate sport  than  anyone.  He  brought  over  some  mallets  and  balls  from  Eng- 
land, and  with  a  few  friends  began  some  practice  games  in  the  old  Dickel  Riding 
Academy.      Shortly  after  that  a  game  was  played  on  the  turf  inside  the  race-track 

at  Jerome  Park.  From  these  small  be- 
ginnings the  interest  grew  rapidly.  The 
Westchester  Polo  Club  was  organized  on 
March  6,  1876,  and  a  good  club-house 
and  stables  were  built  on  a  tract  ot  land 
adjoining  Jerome  Park  on  the  north. 
At  this  time  the  game  differed  in  many 
important  respects  from  the  way  in 
which  it  is  played  to-day,  and  the 
ground  prepared  was  not  ot  regulation 
size,  still  it  answered  quite  well  for  the 
small  ponies  and  slower  game  then 
played.  The  game  presented  so  many 
features  of  novelt)^  that  it  became  in- 
tensely popular,  and  there  were  soon 
more  players  interested  than  could  be 
accommodated.  Not  the  least  interest- 
ing feature  of  the  time  was  the  ten-mile 
drive  on  Mr.  Bennett's  coach  out  to  the 
grounds,  and  if  one  could  but  get  at 
them  there  must  be  a  host  ot  pleasant 
memories  and  experiences  connected 
with  those  days  which  would  make  in- 
teresting reading.  Some  of  the  gentle- 
men who  were  enthusiastically  following 
the  sport  at  this  time  were  Colonel 
William  Jay,  W.  P.  Douglas,  Fairman 
Rogers,  Hollis  Hunnewell,  ■  Frederic 
Bronson,  F.  Gray  Griswold,  Lord  Man- 
deville,  Winthrop  Thorne,  C.  G.  Francklyn,  S.  S.  Howland,  George  R.  Fear- 
ing, Henry  Ridgway,  John  Mott,  and  Sir  Bache  Cunard,  to  name  a  tew. 
The  game  at  this  time  was  conducted  privately,  that  is,  admission  to  the  club- 
house could  only  be  had  by  invitation  from  a  member.  In  1877,  when  the 
game  was  started  at  Newport  by  the  Westchester  Polo  Club,  an  admission  fee 
was  charged,  and  the  public  was  admitted.  The  same  year  the  game  was  started 
at  Long  Branch,  under  the  name  of  the  Brighton  Polo  Club,  by  H.  L.  Herbert, 


Harry  Payne  Whitney. 


Polo  in  America 


139 


George  W.  Elder,  W.  W.  Robbins,  C.  A.  Robbins,  Howard  Stokes,  and  Harry 
Montague,  the  then  popular  actor.  Play  was  only  kept  up  for  two  or  three 
seasons. 

The  ponies  used  at  this  time  averaged  thirteen  hands,  and  fourteen  hands 
was  the  limit.  No  restriction  was  put 
on  the  number  of  players,  and  there 
sometimes  were  as  many  as  six  or  eight 
on  a  side.  As  might  be  expected,  this 
was  too  many  for  comfort,  and  the 
players  often  got  in  each  other's  way, 
but  what  led  to  the  most  confusion  was 
the  prevalent  custom  of  hooking  mal- 
lets. A  player  might  come  thundering 
down  the  field  with  all  the  dash  and 
momentum  accumulated  in  a  hundred- 
yards  run,  his  mallet  raised  high  to 
knock  the  ball  with  one  fierce  blow 
through  the  goal,  when  someone  on  a 
swifter  pony  would  run  in  close  and 
intercept  his  mallet  on  the  downward 
stroke.  Fortunately  we  do  not  have 
this  to  contend  with  to-day.  There 
was  no  handicap  at  this  time,  and  the 
play  was  entirely  for  goals. 

About  1879,  as  the  necessity  for 
using  larger  ponies  became  apparent, 
the  standard  height  of  ponies  was  raised 
to  fourteen  hands  one  inch,  and  the 
smaller  ponies  were  for  the  most  part 
discarded.  There  were  some  wonder- 
ful little  beggars  in  the  smaller  class, 
and  some  of  the  older  players  doubtless 
remember    Mr.    Griswold's    chestnut 

Tommy,  Mr.  August  Belmont,  Jr.'s,  bay  roan  Brick,  and  Mr.  Herman  Oel- 
richs's  dapple  gray  Picayune.  With  this  change  in  the  size  of  ponies  came  a 
lengthening  of  mallets  from  forty-five  inches  to,  in  some  instances,  fifty-seven 
inches,  though  the  average  length  to-day  is  fifty-one  inches.  Both  of  these 
changes  necessarily  altered  the  manner  of  playing.  Instead  of  leaning  forward 
over  the  pony's  neck,  the  position  became  upright,  thus  giving  a  longer  sweep 
with  the   mallet   and   a   better   chance   to   carry  the  stroke   through.     The  polo 


Albert  Edward  Kennedy. 


140 


Polo  in  ^imerica 


stnike    is   iKit  essentially   different    troni    tlie   stroke   used    in    tennis,   racquets,  or 
tlie   other   games   played  with   the    bat  and   ball.      The   most   effective  stroke   is 

a  long  sweeping  one  carried  well  through. 
I  shall  not  attempt  to  chronicle  here 
the  dates  when  playing  was  begun  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country.  Mr.  Herbert 
has  kindly  prepared  for  me  a  table  show- 
ing when  the  different  teams  joined  the 
Polo  Association,  and  a  second  table  show- 
ing the  dates  ot  the  principal  cup  compe- 
titions, with  the  names  of  the  members  ow 
the  winning  team.  Both  ot  these  tables 
will   be  found  at  the  end  ot  the  chapter. 

At  the  time  the  standard  height  of 
ponies  was  raised,  the  standard  of  the 
players  was  also  raised  by  a  natural  pro- 
cess of  selection.  Many  ot  the  original 
players  had  dropped  out  and  a  harder- 
riding  lot  of  enthusiastic  men  had  taken 
their  places.  The  field  of  the  Westches- 
ter team  at  Jerome  Park  was  too  small  to 
be  entirely  satisfactory,  and  there  was  a 
great  deal  ot  time  consumed  in  getting  to 
it.  With  the  idea  of  helping  popularize 
the  sport  the  Park  Commissioners  gave 
the  polo  people  permission  to  use  a  part 
of  the  large  parade  ground  in  Prospect 
Park,  Brooklyn,  for  the  games.  The 
ground  was  in  good  condition  and  well 
suited  to  play  ow,  but,  as  showing  how 
much  slower  the  game  was  then  than 
now,  the  field  was  marked  out  with  chalk, 
and  measured  900  teet  by  600  feet.  Sta- 
bling for  fifty  ponies  was  erected  on  the 
Boulevard,  and  rooms  for  the  use  ot  the 
players  were  fitted  up  in  the  Park  Hotel. 
The  first  important  polo  match  plaved  in  America  took  place  on  these 
grounds  June  11,  1879.  The  competing  teams  were  the  Westchester,  com- 
posed of  A.  Belmont,  jr..  Captain,  and  Harry  Oelrichs,  Carroll  Bryce,  William 
Sandford,  and  H.  L.  Herbert,  with  A.    Landenburg  and  W.  Oothout  as  substi- 


Samiiel  D.   Jl'arren. 


«"  •     ■^'^ 


Jo /ill  E.   Cow  din. 


Mr.   Cow  din  s 
''Jay  Gould r 


Mr.   Cowdin's 
''Ellis." 


Polo  in  America 


H3 


R.  La  Montagne,  Jr.  D.    F.    Savage. 


A.   Butler  Duncan. 


"  Well  backed^  Savage  I 


tutes;  and  the  Queens  County  Hunt  team,  comprised  of  F.  Gray  Griswold, 
Captain,  and  Herman  Oelrichs,  Pierre  Lorillard,  Jr.,  F.  J.  Iselin,  and  Elliot 
Zborowski,  with  H.  W.  Hallock  and  Center  Hitchcock  as  substitutes.  The 
members  of  this  team  all  belonged  to  the  Westchester  Club,  but  for  purposes  of 
competition  they  called  themselves  the  Queens  County  Hunt  team — nowadays 
it  would  have  been  Westchester  No.  i  and  Westchester  No.  2.  The  game  was 
stubbornly  contested,  and  the  newspaper  accounts  are  quite  enthusiastic,  but 
Westchester  finally  won  three  straight  goals.  One  feature  about  the  Prospect 
Park  grounds  which  has  always  made  them  popular  with  the  players  is  the  large 
and  enthusiastic  audience  that  comes  to  see  the  games.  It  is  certainly  inspiring 
to  play  before  ten  thousand  spectators,  and  there  were  frequently  that  many  to 
watch  the  games.  The  Westchester  team  transferred  its  ponies  from  Brooklyn 
to  Newport  in  July ;  for  the  Newport  games  were  then,  and  for  several  years 
afterward,  considered  the  important  games  of  the  year.  The  Buffalo  Club  was 
one  of  the  strongest  competitors  the  Westchesters  had   at  this  time,  for,  though 


144 


Polo  in  America 


the  latter  beat  the  former  on  two  occasions  at   Newport,  the   Buffalo   team  won 
two  matches  from  the  Westchesters  at  Buffalo. 

Between  the  years   1880  and   1885,  as  may  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  table, 


polo  clubs  were 
brook,  Rockaway, 
Club,  Pelham.  In 
vard  students  was 
A  team  from  there, 
mond  Belmont,  Eger- 
Bird,  and  Amos  T. 
the  Country  Club  of 
Meadowbrook  team 
A  n  interesting 
in  1880,  when  Mr. 
in  his  enterprise  by 
nett  and  August  Bel- 
tract  of  land  at  i  loth 
nue  and  spent  |2o,- 
proving  it.  A  club- 
erected,  and  the 
This  was  the  Man- 
tion,  and  these  the 
Grounds"  which  oc- 
and  interesting  a  page 
in  New  York  for  the 
The  opening  day, 
of  the  annual  parade 


F.  S.   Conover,  Jr. 


formed  at  Meadow- 
and  at  the  Country 
1885  a  club  of  Har- 
formed  at  Cambridge, 
consisting  of  Ray- 
ton  Winthrop,  Oliver 
French,  defeated  both 
Pelham  team  and  the 
at  Newport, 
experiment  was  made 
Herbert,  backed  up 
James  Gordon  Ben- 
mont,  Jr.,  leased  the 
Street  and  Sixth  Ave- 
000  levelling  and  im- 
house  and  stable  were 
grounds  prepared, 
hattan  Polo  Associa- 
famous  "Polo 
cupy  so  prominent 
in  the  history  of  sport 
last  twenty  years. 
May  2  2d,  was  the  day 
of  the  Coaching  Club, 


and  the  game  was  not  called  until  late  to  allow  the  coaches  time  in  which  to 
arrive.  The  difficulty  of  growing  turf  on  the  new  grounds  while  they  were  in 
constant  use  made  it  a  difficult  field  to  play  on,  owing  to  the  clouds  of  dust, 
and  after  the  second  year  polo  was  abandoned  there  and  the  lease  was  trans- 
ferred to  another  company.  For  many  years  afterward  it  continued  to  be  the 
historic  baseball  and  football  ground,  and,  as  such,  a  decided  feature  in  the  city 
life.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  field  could  not  have  been  kept  up,  as 
it  would  have  done  a  great  deal  for  the  popularity  of  the  game  to  have  it 
played  on  a  ground  within  the  city  limits,  and  it  would  have  added  a  picturesque 
note  to  city  life. 

In  many  respects  the  most  important  game  in  the  history  of  polo  in  this 
country  took  place  in  1886.  Ranelagh  and  Hurlingham  have  long  been  the 
home  of  the  best  polo  in  England,  and  in   that  year  a  team  from   Hurlingham 


Polo  in  America 


145 


came  over  to  Newport  and  played  against  a  mixed  American  team  on  the 
grounds  at  Morton  Park.  The  first  game  was  played  on  August  25th,  and 
the  competing   teams   were   made   up   in   the   following   manner-. 


E)iglish  Team. — 
Captain ;  Captain  the 
Captain  T.  Howe,  and 

American  Tea/11. 
cock,  Jr.,  Mr.  VV.  K. 
mond    Belmont,    and 

The  conditions 
the  best  two  in  three, 
in  intervals  oi  twenty 
two  minutes  rest  after 
minutes  rest  at  the 
terval.  Mr.  S.  How- 
high  platform,  was  the 
L.  Winthrop,  Jr.,  um- 
cans,  and  the  Hon. 
for  the  English  team, 
was  time-keeper, 
yellow,  and  their  op- 


Mr.  John  Watson, 
Honorable  R.  Lawley, 
Mr.  Malcolm  Little. 
— Mr. Thomas  Hitch- 
Thorn,  Jr.,  Mr.  Ray- 
Mr.  Foxhall  Keene. 
of  the  match  were 
The  play  was  to  bs 
minutes  each,  with 
each  goal,  and  ten 
expiration  ot  each  in- 
land Robbins,  on  a 
referee;  Mr.  Egerton 
pired  for  the  Ameri- 
Mr.Lambton  umpired 
Mr.  S.  S.  Sands,  Jr., 
The  Americans  wore 
ponents  light  blue. 


C.   C.  Baldwin. 


match  was  opened  by  a 
and  Little,  the  former, 
reaching  the  ball  first, 
in  fine  style,  none  of 
able  to  touch  it.     Time, 


First  Game. — The 
charge  by  Messrs.  Keene 
on  a  very  fleet  pony, 
and  he  rattled  it  home 
the  other  players  being 
twenty-four  seconds. 

Second  Game. — The  charge  in  this,  as  well  as  in  all  the  succeeding  games,  was  omitted, 
and  the  players  assembled  in  the  centre.  Mr.  Lawley  opened  the  game  well  for  the  English 
team  with  two  powerful  blows.  Mr.  Thorn  was  at  his  heels,  and  a  knockout  was  the  result. 
Mr.  Thorn,  in  sending  the  ball  in  from  the  whitewash  line,  knocked  it  in  front  of  his  goal, 
where  it  was  met  by  Mr.  Little,  who  dashed  to  the  goal  and  took  the  ball  with  him.  Time, 
forty-five  seconds. 

Third  Game. — The  captain  of  the  English  game  stationed  himself  in  the  rear  before  the 
bell  rang,  as  usual.  Lawley  opened  the  game  well  and  took  the  ball  to  goal,  where  a  yellow 
man  sent  it  out  of  bounds  for  safety.  It  was  in  this  game  that  the  Englishmen  showed 
their  style  of  play  to  advantage.  A  clever  backhanded  blow  by  Lawley  brought  out  con- 
siderable applause.  The  Americans  were  soon  placed  on  the  defensive,  and  they  were 
obliged  to  resort  to  knockouts.  The  ball  was  kept  on  the  move,  and  was  rushed  up  and 
down  past  the  clubhouse.  Mr.  Thorn  here  showed  to  advantage.  He  took  the  ball  down 
the  hill  with  three  ratding  blows  and  was  loudly  applauded.  Captain  Watson  went  on  the 
defensive  and  sent  the  ball  out  of  bounds  for  safety,  and  when  it  was  knocked  at  again  the 


:^T»  Hif.^ 


14^ 


Polo  in  America 


Englishmen  rushed  to  the  opposite  end.  Mr.  Keene  was  on  hand  and  returned  it,  hut  a 
backhander  by  Mr.  Howe  threw  the  Americans  off  their  guard.  Mr.  Thorn  then  sent  the 
bail  skyward,  and  at  this  point  Captain  Watson  broke  his  mallet,  but  kept  on  using  the  bit 
of  stock  left  in  his  hand.      This  mishap  was  fortunate  for  the  Americans,  who  lost  no  time 

and  soon  turned  the  ball  down  the  hill, 
after  it  was  thought  that  Lawley  had 
scored.  A  pretty  contest  took  place  over 
the  boundary  boards  on  the  west  side, 
after  which  Hitchcock  took  the  ball  in 
charge  and  with  three  blows  sent  it  home, 
and  scored  a  notable  victory.  Many 
thought  the  home  team  would  be  the  win- 
ners.    Time,  six  minutes. 

Fourth  Game. — Three  men  in  rapid 
succession  missed  the  ball  when  the  bell 
rang.  The  Americans  played  well  and 
backed  each  other  in  a  very  expert  man- 
ner. Hitchcock  was  at  his  best  and  dashed 
up  the  hill  with  the  ball  in  charge.  When 
he  had  finished,  Keene,  who  was  at  his 
heels,  sent  the  ball  between  the  red  flags. 
Time,  one  minute. 

Fifth  Game. — Lawley  got  the  first 
crack  at  the  ball,  and  then  Captain  Wat- 
son, with  powerful  blows,  sent  it  almost 
between  the  flags.  The  goal  was  saved, 
however,  by  Mr.  Thorn.  Then  Mr. 
Hitchcock  rushed  down  the  hill  and  dealt 
the  ball  three  consecutive  blows,  only  to 
be  returned  by  Little  in  an  equally  ener- 
getic manner.  It  was  now  out  of  bounds, 
and,  when  tossed  in,  Mr.  Keene  took  it 
to  the  boards,  on  which  the  Americans 
seemed  to  be  at  home.  Lawley  finally 
picked  it  out  and  rattled  it  to  goal,  with 
Thorn  at  his  heels.  Belmont  sent  it  to 
the  boards.  The  Englishmen  outrode  the  home  team  almost  invariably,  and  they 
rarely  missed  the  ball.  Another  save  was  scored  by  Thorn  after  Lawley  had  come 
within  an  ace  of  winning.  The  clever  backhanded  blows  of  the  Englishmen  stood  them 
well  in  hand,  and  they  never  resorted  to  that  kind  of  play  until  they  saw  where  their 
men  were  located.  Little  was  always  on  hand.  The  English  team  found  it  hard  work  to 
take  the  ball  uphill.  Keene  was  compelled  to  change  his  pony,  but  he  did  it  quickly. 
The  Englishmen  knew  that  the  time  of  the  first  series  was  nearly  up,  and  that  the  score 
was  in  favor  of  their  opponents.  Every  man  of  the  American  team  made  a  good  record, 
and  they  imitated  many  of  the  moves  of  their  antagonists.      Thorn  changed   his  pony  after 


George  J.   Gould. 


Polo  in  America 


147 


sending  the  ball  skyward.  Little's  play  was  the  feature  of  the  latter  part  of  the  game. 
The  ball  was  kept  in  motion  and  was  as  often  at  one  end  of  the  lot  as  the  other.  The 
game  was  finally  won  for  the  English  team  by  Little.     Time,  ten  minutes. 

Sixth  Game. — Only  two  minutes  of  the  first  twenty  minute  series  was  now  left.  The 
game  was  opened  in  an  aggressive  manner 
by  Messrs.  Lawley  and  Hone,  and  the 
latter  broke  his  mallet  with  the  first 
blow.  The  bell  finally  rang,  the  signal 
that  the  time  allotted  for  the  first  series 
of  play  had  expired.  After  ten  minutes' 
rest  the  game  was  resumed.  Following 
a  pretty  struggle  in  close  quarter  Little 
"  stole "  the  ball  and  rushed  down  the 
hill  with  his  pony  and  the  ball  under  per- 
fect control,  but  he  failed  to  score,  the 
ball  going  out  on  the  wrong  side  of  goal. 
The  Englishmen  played  remarkably  well 
toward  the  finish,  their  team  work  being 
all  the  lovers  of  polo  could  wish.  Wat- 
son made  a  most  brilliant  finish  for  his 
team,  when  he  scored  with  three  powerful 
and  telling  blows.  Time,  including  time 
occupied  in  first  intervals,  four  minutes. 

Seventh  Game. — Little  opened  this 
game  to  advantage,  taking  the  ball  along 
the  boards  as  neatly  as  the  Americans. 
The  ball  was  kept  near  the  club-house  for 
some  time.  Just  as  Little  was  taking  the 
ball  to  goal  with  his  telling  strokes,  Hitch- 
cock was  dismounted.  Many  believed 
that  he  was  seriously  injured.  When  he 
again  appeared  in  the  saddle  the  spectators 
applauded.  Play  was  thoughtfully  sus- 
pended, the  Englishmen  being  perfectly 
willing  to  hold  up.  When  play  was  re- 
sumed, Hitchcock  rushed  down  the  field 

and  struck  the  ball  three  telling  blows.  He  was  followed  by  Keene,  who  took  the  ball  up 
and  across,  and  made  a  splendid  record,  and  one  that  was  duly  recognized  by  the  spectators. 
Thorn  made  a  splendid  "  save  "  and  the  Americans  now  took  to  centre.  The  excitement 
was  intense,  and  both  teams  played  for  all  the  men  were  worth.  While  all  the  players  were 
crowding  about  the  goal  looking  for  the  ball.  Captain  Watson,  who  was  well  in  the  rear, 
took  it  home  by  one  of  his  tremendous  strokes,  amid  great  applause.  The  Americans 
were  demoralized  by  this  brilliant  coup.      Time,  nine  minutes  and  fifteen  seconds. 

Eighth  Game. — Both  sides  seemed   to  be  puzzled  as  to  the  way  they  should  send  the 
ball,  and  one  of  the  Americans  was  obliged  to  shout  to  the  referee  for  instructions.      The 


H.  H.  Holmes. 


148 


Polo  in   America 


Englishmen  outplayed  and  outrode  the  Americans  at  almost  every  point,  but  Messrs. 
Keene  and  Thorn  made  a  brilliant  but  forlorn  struggle.  The  two  latter  often  took  the 
ball  to  goal,  but  an  opponent  was  always  on  hand  to  take  it  back.  The  Americans 
kept  the  ball  at  their  end   of  the  lot  for  some  time,  but  when  the  bell  rang  and  the  referee 

visiting  team  were  do- 
After  ten  minutes  rest 


shouted  "  Time  "  the 
ing  the  best  work, 
play  was  resumed  with 
applause  for  his  many 
one  time  he  took  com- 
ball,  and  took  it  al- 
consecutive  blows, 
the  visitors  had  every- 
Lawley,  backed  by 
record.  The  ball  was 
flags  by  Hone  for  the 
including  that  occu- 
terval, fourteen  minutes 

Ninth  Game.  — 
this  game  well  for  the 
rushed  toward  goal 
pressed  and  failed  to 
ment.  The  English 
blows  sent  the  ball  to 
time,  and  they  rarely 
crowded  by  the  op- 
rattled  the  ball  well  to 
on  the  opposite  side, 
the  whitewashed  line 
handed  blow,  sending 
who  drove  it  home 
Time,     t  w  o      min- 

T'enth  Game.  — 
but  a  feeble  effort  in 


George  P.  Eustis. 


a  will,  Keene  winning 
good  moves,  and  at 
plete  control  of  the 
most  home  with  three 
Then,  until  the  finish, 
thing  their  own  way. 
Little,  made  a  brilliant 
worked  between  the 
English  team.  Time, 
pied  in  the  second  in- 
and  thirty  seconds. 
H  itchcock  opened 
Americans,  but  as  he 
he  was  too  closely 
score  at  a  critical  mo- 
players'  backhanded 
the  right  person  every 
missed  except  when 
posing  team.  Hone 
goal,  which  it  passed 
but  before  it  touched 
he  gave  it  a  back- 
it  to  Captain  Watson, 
with  a  terrific  smash, 
utes. 

The  home  team  made 
this  game,  which  was 


easily  scored  against  them  by  Lawley,  whose  backhanders  were  very  destructive  to  any 
hope  held  out  that  the  Americans  stood  any  show  the  first  day.      Time,  thirty  seconds. 

Eleventh  Game. — Messrs.  Lawley  and  Hone  took  the  ball  to  goal  with  their- superior 
ponies  before  either  of  the  Americans  touched  it.  A  very  exciting  struggle  took  place  and 
Lawley  with  a  backhander  sent  the  ball  almost  through  a  goal.  Thorn  was  on  hand  to 
"save,"  but  he  had  no  sooner  taken  the  ball  to  centre  than  Hone  returned  it.  A  back- 
hander from  Thorn  and  a  down  hill  blow  from  Hitchcock  were  the  signal  for  applause. 
The  Americans,  however,  were  unable  to  keep  the  ball  at  their  end  but  a  few  seconds,  the 
visiting  team  doing  almost  as  they  liked  with  it.  Messrs.  Little,  Hone,  and  Lawley,  in  the 
order  named,  got  a  crack  at  the  ball  in  centre,  and  scored  again,  the  ball  being  sent  between 
flags  by  the  last-mentioned.      Time,  five  minutes  and  thirty  seconds. 

Twelfth  Game. — The  game  was  opened  for  the  home  team  by   Keene,  who  gave  Cap- 


hi 

?5~ 


5      Si, 

■_  to 


2      ft" 


^ 


Sidney  Dillon  Ripley. 


Polo  in  America 


151 


tain  Watson  considerable  trouble,  and  he  was  obliged  to  pay  strict  attention  to  him.  There 
was  an  exciting  struggle  between  Little  and  Keene,  who  endeavored  to  stem  the  current, 
but  the  game  was  won  by  Lawley.      Time,  two  minutes. 

Thirteenth  Game. — The  team  play  of  the  Englishmen  was  the  feature  of  the  game.    A 

visit  was  made  to  the  clubhouse,  after  which 

the    ball    was    rushed          ^^H[^^^^^H|^^^^^^H^^H  home  by  Lawley,  who 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^P  to  the                 already 

there  being                   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^1  ten  to  the 

^^^^^^^^^H^^^^^^^^^^^H  never 

getting  the  ball  away          ^^^^^l^^^nSSi^^^^^^^B  from   centre.       Time, 

one  minute  and  fifteen          ^^^^^|P               ^'^^^^^^^M^^^^^B  seconds. 

Fourteenth  Game.  ^^^^^S^^  'i^^^^H  — This  was  an  un- 
usually fast  game,  and  ^^^^^W^~  '  i^^wl^^^H  '^^  must  be  admitted 
that  the  Americans  ^^^^m  ..  "  '^i^^^^^H  made  a  good  fight 
against  fearful  odds.  ^^^HM^  '^fi'^^li^^^^l  ^^^  home  team  out- 
played their  oppo-  ^^^iHBk  ^^^^^^1  nents.  The  ball  was 
rattled  across  and  |^^^|^^I^^H^^pA''^  ^^^^^H  down  the  lot  rapidly, 
the  players  riding  su-  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^^^^^^1  perbly.  The  game 
was  finally  scored  for  I^^^^^Bp  .^^^^^^^^^^^1  ^^  home  team  by 
Thorn.     7'ime,                     ^B^^^^^^K^t^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

When    the                   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H  game    was 

only  thirty  seconds  re-          l^^^^^^^^^^^^^^l^^^^^^^l  mained,  and  two 

utes          allowed  after          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H^^^^^^H  each    goal.      No    fur- 

ther   play            called.          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^1  The  score  was  10  to  4. 


As  will  be  seen 
account  of  the  first 
knowledge  of  the 
team  work  of  the 
day.  They  won 
ease.  The  individ- 
our  men  was  quite 


William  A.   Hazard. 


by  the  foregoing 
game,  the  superior 
game  and  the  better 
English  carried  the 
both  games  with 
ual  play  of  some  of 
as   good   as  that  of 


the  English  players,  notably  in  the  case  of  Foxhall  Keene,  who  made  the 
first  goal  for  our  side  in  two  strokes  as  soon  as  the  ball  was  thrown  in.  But 
the  play  of  John  Watson,  the  back  of  the  English  team,  was  a  revelation  to 
our  men.  He  would  direct  his  men  and  back  the  ball  to  them  in  such  a 
way  that  the  ball  always  came  to  the  man  to  whom  he  shouted,  and  he  would 
then  carry  the  ball  down  the  field  and  make  the  goal.  These  matches  taught 
us  more  about  polo  than  we  could  have  learned  by  ourselves  in  a  great  many 
years.  From  that  time  our  game  has  greatly  improved.  Every  man  studies 
the  position  he  is  to  play,  and,  whether  he  plays  No.  i  or  back,  knows  the 
duties  he  has  to  perform.  Most  men  stick  to  one  position,  and  are  known  as 
a  back,  or  a  No.   i,  No.  2,  or   No.  3,  but  it   is   always  well   for   a   man   to   play 


152 


Polo  in  America 


more  than  one  position.     It  familiarizes  him  with  the  requirements  ot  the  game 
and  enables  him  to  play  more  understandingly  in  team  work. 

For  the  benefit  of  those  who  are  not  familiar  with  the  game,  it  may  be 
well  to  explain  the  names  and  duties  of  the  different  players.  In  the  line-up  for 
play,  No.   I   rides  off  the  opposing  back,  and    No.  2  takes  the  ball — that   is    the 

duty  oi  No.  i  at  all  times.  No.  2  plays  the 
opposing  No.  3,  which  leaves  No.  3  io  play  the 
opposing  No.  2.  The  backs  keep  the  position, 
and  try,  as  far  as  possible,  to  "back"  the  ball 
to  a  particular  player,  whichever  one  is  more 
convenient.  If  it  should  be  to  No.  3,  No.  2 
goes  down  the  field  ahead  of  line  and  closes 
the  way.  While  there  are,  properly  speaking, 
but  four  strokes  used  in  polo,  one  forward  and 
one  back  on  each  side  of  the  pony,  the  angle  at 
which  the  ball  is  struck  can  be  varied  consider- 
ably, and  this  adds  very  much  to  the  interest 
of  the  game.  For  this  reason  a  back  must  be 
able  to  back  on  both  sides,  or  else  he  will  be 
ridden  off^  all  the  time.  The  opposing  No. 
I,  finding  that  he  can  only  back  on  the  onej 
side,  will  ride  off  continually  on  that  side, 
whereas,  if  he  can  hit  the  ball  on  either  side, 
he  would  naturally  always  back  the  ball  on 
the  side  on  which  he  is  not  being  ridden  off. 

We  have  developed  some  excellent  men  for  the  different  positions.  Among 
the  No.  I's  we  have  men  like  W.  C.  Eustis,  who  has  been  for  several  years  one 
of  the  best  No.  I's  in  the  country,  and  Mr.  Allan  Forbes,  of  the  Dedham  team, 
which  won  the  championship  match  for  1900,  at  Prospect  Park. 

Among  the  No.  2's  we  have  J.  M.  Waterbury,  Jr.  ;  Mr.  E.  M.  Weld,  the 
very  effective  Dedham  player  from  this  year's  championship  team ;  Mr.  Robert 
G.  Shaw,  2d,  of  Myopia,  and  Mr.  George  P.  Eustis.  In  years  past  Mr.' Thomas 
Hitchcock,  Jr.,  was  a  most  formidable  No.  2,  and  the  records  of  early  Newport 
games  suggest  that  he  kept  things  pretty  well  stirred  up  and  took  his  share  of 
accidents.  The  strong  point  of  his  play  is  that  he  never  rests  back — there  is 
always  something  doing,  and  to  his  aggressive  play  he  adds  the  merit  of  being  a 
very  accurate  goal  hitter. 

Among  No.  3's  Foxhall  Keene  stands  at  the  head  of  the  list,  followed  by  Mr. 
Harry  Payne  Whitney,  who  is  one  of  the  most  effective  players  we  have.  Mr. 
W.  H.  Goodwin,  of  the  Dedham  team,  and  Mr.  F.  S.  Conover,  of  the  Rocka- 


J.  M.  IVaterbury,  Jr. 


Polo  in  America 


153 


way  team,  should  also  be  included  among  the  strong  No.  3's.  Keene  plays 
with  his  head  all  the  time,  and  makes  a  splendid  captain,  as  he  can  take  in  the 
situation  at  a  glance  and  direct  his  men ;  being  such  a  good  player  and  such 
a  sure  hitter,  the  men  in  front  ot  him  can  always  depend  on  the  ball  coming 
up  to  them.  His  direction  in  hitting  goals  is  the  best  of  any  player  in  the 
country,  and  he  can  make  a  goal  at  any  angle. 

The  strongest  back  in  the  country  at  the 
present  time  is  Lawrence  Waterbury,  of  the 
Westchester  team,  while,  after  him,  would 
come  Mr.  R.  L.  Agassiz,  the  well-known  back 
of  the  Myopia  team ;  Mr.  Benjamin  NicoU,  of 
the  Meadowbrook  team,  and  Mr.  Joshua  Crane, 
of  the  Dedham  team.  Both  Nicoll  and  Agassiz 
are  very  sure  on  their  back-hand  stroke.  Nicoll 
is  a  very  hard  man  to  ride  off,  owing  to  his 
physique,  but  is  not  quite  so  quick  as  Agassiz. 
The  two  Waterburys  are  the  quickest  players 
we  have,  and  they  will  often  take  a  ball  right 
out  from  under  an  opponent's  mallet.  What 
makes  Lawrence  Waterbury's  play  so  strong  is 
that  he  can  back  the  ball  equally  well  on  both 
sides,  and  his  backhand  stroke  on  the  left  side 
of  the  pony  is  wonderful. 

The  game  lost  one  of  its  very  best  men 
last  year  in  the  death  of  C.  C.  Baldwin.  If  he  had  lived,  he  certainly  would 
have  been  handicapped  at  ten  goals  this  year.  He  could  play  any  position  on 
a  team  equally  well,  although  his  favorite  position  was  No.  2  or  3.  He  played 
with  a  dash  rarely  seen  on  the  polo  field,  and  he  was  never  beaten  until  the  final 
bell  rang.  A  very  strong  point  in  his  play  was  the  fact  that  he  could  hit  the 
ball  equally  well  on  both  sides  of  his  pony,  and  I  have  frequently  seen  him  carry 
the  ball  the  whole  length  of  the  field  on  the  near  side  of  his  pony,  and  make 
a  goal  while  one  of  the  opposing  players  was  trying  to  ride  him  off  on  the 
off  side. 

It  is  manifestly  impossible  to  go  into  an  analysis  of  the  game  played  by  all 
the  different  "cracks,"  the  only  point  I  want  to  make  being  that  individual 
study  of  the  game  is  a  characteristic  of  every  strong  player. 

With  such  players  to  draw  on,  it  is  a  source  of  regret  that  four  first-class 
men  have  never  been  able  to  get  together  and  go  abroad  to  try  and  win  back 
the  International  Polo  Trophy,  which  the  English  team  took  home  with  them 
to  Hurlingham.      It  would   be  a   considerable  undertaking.      To   make   a   thor- 


Rubert   G.  Shaw,  2d. 


154 


Polo  in  America 


OLio-h  try  for  the  cup,  it  would  be  necessary  to  have  the  ponies  sent  to  England 
and  become  acclimated,  and  our  men  would  have  to  play  a  number  of  practice 
matches  under  the  English  rules.  From  first  to  last  it  would  mean  an  absence 
of  four  months.  The  English  rules  and  ours  differ  only  in  two  important  re- 
spects.     They  allow  the  hooking  of  mallets,  and  play  the  off-side  game. 

The  difference  between  the  two 
games  is  quite  clearly  set  forth  by  Mr. 
Keene,  but  an  explanation  as  to  just  what 
constitutes  "off-side"  play  may  be  neces- 
sary for  the  uninitiated.  The  English  rule 
reads  as  follows : 

"  A  player  is  off-side  when  at  the 
time  of  the  ball  being  hit  he  has  no  one 
of  the  opposite  side  between  him  and  the 
adversaries'  goal-line,  or  behind  that  goal- 
line,  and  he  is  neither  in  possession  of  the 
ball  nor  behind  one  of  his  own  side  who 
is  in  possession  of  the  ball.  The  position 
of  the  players  is  to  be  considered  at  the 
time  the  ball  was  last  hit — i.e.,  a  player, 
if  on  one  side  when  the  ball  was  last  hit, 
remains  on  side  until  it  is  hit  again." 

There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  dis- 
cussion regarding  the  merits  of  English 
and  American  ponies,  and  at  the  time  the 
English  team  was  over  here  Mr.  Watson, 
the  captain,  attributed  much  of  their  success  to  the  better  staying  qualities  of 
the  English  ponies.  I  firmly  believe  that  the  American  ponies  are  better.  The 
English  ponies  are,  as  a  rule,  perhaps,  better  bred  than  ours,  and  in  a  half- 
mile  race  might  outstay  ours,  but  for  handiness  and  speed  in  short  dashes  we 
need  ask  no  favors.  There  is  no  better  horse  in  the  world  than  our  Western  cow 
pony.  In  the  first  place  he  is  up  to  carrying  great  weight,  some  of  them  being 
able  to  carry  a  man  weighing  over  two  hundred  pounds  for  thirty  or  forty  miles, 
day  after  day.  Besides  this,  he  will  thrive  on  food  that  ordinary  horses  could 
not  live  on.  He  gets  very  little  care  and  knows  how  to  look  out  for  himself. 
They  have  all  been  taught  to  round  up  cattle,  so  that  it  is  an  easy  matter  to 
teach  them  to  play  polo.  Some  of  the  English  ponies  are  trained  for  two  years 
before  they  can  be  used  for  polo  at  all.  Most  of  the  Western  ponies  are  sup- 
posed to  be  bred  from  quarter  horses — or  race  ponies — and  some  of  them  come 
close  to  thoroughbred  stock.      Mr.  Savage  and  Mr.  Conover  have  been  breeding 


Stanley  Mortimer. 


Foxhall  Keene. 


E.   C.  Potter. 


Polo  in  America 


157 


1 


from  thoroughbred  stock  in  Texas,  and  Mr.  Hersig  took  The  Turk  and  Quito, 
both  thoroughbreds,  to  Colorado  for  the  purpose  of  breeding  polo  ponies  there. 

It  requires  at  least  four  ponies  if  one  is  playing  matches,  and  there  is 
no  excitement  in  playing  practice  matches.  Three  ponies  will  answer  for 
the  game,  but  a  fourth  should  be  kept  in  case  of  accidents.  Nearly  all  polo 
ponies  drive  well,  and  a  great  many  men 
drive  their  ponies  in  the  winter.  Several 
of  the  Meadowbrook  ponies  are  used  for 
hunting,  and  this  practice  is  quite  common 
in  England.  In  picking  out  a  pony  look 
tor  conformation,  handiness,  a  light  mouth, 
and  speed.  American  ponies  are  generally 
well  trained,  because  they  have  had  so 
many  hard  knocks.  The  secret  of  keeping 
a  pony  is  not  to  stay  on  him  too  long.  It 
is  preferable  to  have  the  ponies  as  near  the 
same  size  as  possible,  so  that  the  player  can 
use  one  length  o{  stick,  and  experience  has 
shown  that  a  light  stick  with  a  heavy  head 
is  the  best  for  driving.  In  the  last  cham- 
pionship match  the  Dedhams,  who  made 
a  very  careful  study  of  all  the  conditions 
and  trained  for  the  game  in  a  systematic, 
thorough  way,  used  sixteen-ounce  sticks, 
claiming  that  they  found  it  easier  to  get 
around   with   them.      There  is,  of  course, 

something  to  be  said  on  that  side,  and  it  is  quite  in  the  spirit  ot  American 
players  to  experiment  in  all  directions  seeking  improvement.  The  net  result 
can  only  be  gain  to  the  game.  My  own  preferences  are,  however,  for  some- 
thing heavier  than  that,  and  I  consider  the  superior  driving  ability  of  a  heavier 
head  more  than  counter-balances  its  criticized  unwieldiness.  We  use  a  different 
stick  from  those  I  saw  in  England.  They  prefer  a  long,  pliable,  "whippy" 
stick,  with  a  heavy  square-sided  head.  The  heads  on  our  sticks  are  more  cigar- 
shaped,  and  our  sticks  are  much  stiffer,  by  which  I  mean  less  limber.  The  light 
thong  or  tape  on  our  sticks  is  also  an  advantage,  because  it  a  stick  is  dropped 
the  rider  is  obliged  to  dismount  to  pick  it  up.  I  do  not  remember  to  have 
noticed  this  feature  on  English  sticks. 

The  American  game  of  four  periods,  each  fifteen  minutes  long,  is  not  so 
favorable  for  the  ponies,  nor  does  it  make  the  game  so  fast.  The  English  game, 
consisting   of  six    periods,    each  ten  minutes  long,   is  much  easier,    as  a    pony 


P.   F.   Collier. 


iS^ 


Polo  in  America 


can  readily  play  the  ten  minutes  without  showing  fatigue,  and  this  obviates  any 
change  of  ponies  during  the  game.  I  wish  such  division  of  time  could  be 
adopted  on  this  side,  and  I  think  likely  it  will  be,  as  the  tendency  is  in  every 
department  to  make  the  game  as  fast  as  possible.      The  beauty  of  the  game  is  to 

have  it  fast.  The  real  difference  between 
a  first-class  and  a  second-class  player  is 
merely  a  question  of  speed.  Any  beginner 
can  hit  the  ball  by  going  slowly,  but  the 
test  comes  when  the  pony  is  charging  down 
the  field  at  full  speed.  Players  who  have 
been  considered  very  good  when  playing  in 
their  own  class,  have  proved  quite  inferior 
when  pitted  against  first-class  men.  Men 
who  have  been  readily  conceded  four  or  five 
goals  are  sometimes  not  worth  two  when 
really  put  to  the  test  of  speed. 

Spurs  are  optional  with  the  player,  but 
my  own  opinion  is  that  a  good  pony  does 
not  require  rowels — if  he  does  not  start 
quickly,  it  is  because  the  rider  has  been  on 
his  back  too  long.  Blinkers  were  in  use 
up  to  six  or  eight  years  ago,  and  although 
still  occasionally  seen,  they  have  practically 
gone  out  of  use  owing  to  the  many  acci- 
dents which  their  use  entailed.  Whips  are 
quite  often  used  here,  though  not  as  much  as  in  England,  but  this  is  partially  ex- 
plained by  the  fact  that  it  is  considered  bad  form  for  a  player  to  strike  his  pony 
with  a  stick.  It  was  explained  to  me  that  some  such  regulation  became  neces- 
sary, owing  to  the  severe  drubbing  which  ponies  got  from  excited  players.  The 
papier-mache  posts  used  for  goal-posts  were  first  used  about  five  years  ago,  and 
came  from  England.  There  were  so  many  bad  accidents  from  collision  with  the 
goal-posts  that  something  of  the  kind  became  absolutely  necessary.  For  the  same 
reason  fences  are  no  longer  allowed  around  polo  fields.  Many  of  the  players 
will  remember  the  fence  around  the  Newport  field,  with  the  big  black  ball 
painted  on  it  between  the  goal-posts.  Basswood  or  whitewood  balls  have  been 
in  use  since  1876.  The  dimensions  of  a  polo  field  are  900  X  500  feet,  though 
the  figures  sometimes  vary  a  little,  but  these  are  the  dimensions  of  the  field  in 
Prospect  Park,  at  Meadowbrook,  and  of  Mr.  Gould's  field  at  Lakewood.  Our 
summers  are  drier  than  the  summers  in  England,  and  the  turf  here  is  not  so  good 
as  on  the  other  side;  in  fact,  on  Long  Island,  where  the  ground  is  sandy,  the  field 


R.  L.  A  gas  six. 


Polo  in  America 


159 


sometimes  gets  quite  hard.  Generally  speaking,  though,  we  have  no  cause  for 
complaint  on  this  score.  Nearly  all  of  the  important  grounds  have  a  system  of 
pipes  around  the  field  which  connects  with  big  sprinklers,  and  after  a  heavy 
match  the  laborers  go  over  the  ground  and  "tamp"  it  down  into  shape.  I  do 
not  think  our  system  is  quite  as  perfect  as  at 
Hurlingham,  for  example,  where  they  have 
an  arrangement  by  which  the  grounds  can 
be  flooded.  The  pipes  run  under  the  field, 
and  there  are  stations  on  the  field  for  taking 
off  the  water.  These  stations  are  just  below 
the  surface,  and  there  is  a  contrivance  like  a 
tiower-pot  that  covers  the  pipe — over  this 
the  turf  is  packed,  so  that  the  surface  of  the 
field  is  not  disturbed.  One  disadvantage 
that  we  suffer  trom  here  is  the  lack  of  suffi- 
cient practice.  In  England  there  are  men 
who  will  spend  a  whole  week  practising  a 
single  stroke,  and  even  longer,  and  the  best 
players  give  up  their  whole  time  to  it.  For 
boys  who  want  to  play  polo  there  is  no 
better  practice  than  bicycle  polo.  It  gives 
them  direction,  balance,  accuracy  of  eye,  and 
speed  in  hitting.  It  has  all  the  features  that 
polo  possesses.  The  youngsters  get  falls, 
and  they  break  their  machines  occasionally, 

but  the  more  expert  they  become  the  fewer  are  the  accidents.  I  cannot  do 
better  than  give  a  few  quotations  from  an  article  on  Bicycle  Polo  written  by 
Mr.  A.  H.  Godfrey. 

The  players  who  first  took  up  the  sport  are  representative  of  the  younger  contingent 
at  the  Rockaway  and  other  country  clubs — in  fact,  are  the  sons  or  brothers  of  adult  mem- 
bers, whose  tactics,  on  ponies,  the  youngsters  follow  in  every  detail  on  bicycles,  their  play 
bping  almost  an  exact  reproduction  of  the  dashes,  charges,  and  scrimmages  which  their 
elders  indulge  in,  and  partaking  of  all  the  features  of  polo  proper,  bar  the  ponies. 

In  bicycle  polo  the  youthful  players  make  their  wheels  perform  almost  identically  as  do 
living  ponies  under  the  direction  of  the  adult  riders  in  the  regular  game.  Just  as  a  pony, 
when  suddenly  pulled  up  by  a  bit  and  bridle,  will  rear  on  its  haunches,  so  the  bicycle  is 
raised  until  it  balances  on  the  rear  wheel.  While  in  that  position  the  plucky  rider  will 
strike  at  the  ball  with  his  mallet,  then  spin  his  wheel  around  as  on  a  pivot,  and  point  it  in 
a  new  direction,  so  that  the  moment  the  front  tire  touches  the  ground  he  can  propel  the 
machine  after  the  ball. 

Frequently,  when  moving  at  high  speed,  a  player  will   be  seen  to  stand  on  his  pedals, 


Benjamin  Nicoll. 


i6o 


Polo  in  America 


pull  up  on  his  handle-bars,  stop  his  machine,  and  then  strike  the  ball  either  forward  or  to 
the  rear  by  a  well-directed  blow  delivered  with  arm  and  mallet  swinging  from  the  shoulder. 
At  other  times  he  will  hit  the  ball  so  as  to  force  it  between  the  wheels  of  his  own  machine, 
leaning  well  over  to  give  it  the  proper  direction,  and  then,  quickly   recovering,  will  start 

going  again  without  touching  foot  to  the 
ground.  In  the  scrimmages  which  take  place 
near  the  goal-posts  it  is  really  wonderful  how 
the  players  retain  their  equilibrium,  for,  bunched 
together  as  they  become,  it  seems  almost  im- 
possible for  any  one  player  to  extricate  himself 
\  and   machine  from   the  ruck  without  damage. 

';  A  But  the  hoys  separate  somehow,  and,  smiling, 

\  thev   ride  across  the   fields    ready  and  willing 

(  for  another  tussle.  The  same  occurs  after  a 
i  crash  to  earth  at  the  boundary-lines,  where 
'  their  proverbial  good  luck  attends  them,  and 
J  the  plucky  players  are  up  and  on  their  wheels 

'  again  almost  before  the  spectators  realize  that 

^  a  collision  has  actually  happened. 

With  the  exception  of  shorter  sticks,  the 
implements  are  the  same  as  used  in  regular 
polo,  and  the  rules  for  that  game  govern  play. 
The  bicycles  used  are  generally  those  with 
short  head-tubes,  low  frames,  and  fitted  with 
medium  rather  than  exceedingly  high  gears, 
the  necessities  of  the  game  requiring  the  players 
to  bend  over  their  handle-bars,  have  their  feet 
close  to  the  ground,  and  get  quickly  into  a  sprint  from  a  standstill.  Strong  and  well- 
tested  machines  are  of  course  necessary  to  withstand  the  heavy  and  sudden  strains  put  upon 
them  in  reckless  play.  Except  in  the  case  of  unusually  tall  riders,  the  saddles  used  are  set 
as  close  to  the  bicycle  frame  as  possible,  so  as  to  render  a  machine  more  compact,  keep  the 
weight  low  down,  and  obviate  wobbling.  This  also  reduces  the  resistance  which  wheel  and 
rider  present  to  the  wind. 

In  heavy  play  there  are,  of  course,  numerous  instances  of  broken  spokes,  bent  frames, 
twisted  handle-bars,  and  wheels  knocked  out  of  true,  but  the  enthusiasts  who  continue  in 
the  game  soon  gain  such  a  knowledge  of  their  mounts  as  to  be  able  to  put  in  new  spokes, 
true  up  their  wheels,  straighten  cranks,  handle-bars,  and  braces,  and  make  all  light  repairs, 
including  the  mending  of  punctured  tires.  It  is  seldom  that  any  bad  smashes  occur.  In 
order  to  keep  the  expenses  incident  to  practice  down  to  the  minimum,  several  of  the  players 
prefer  to  use  old  wheels  of  the  heavier  variety  rather  than  their  newest  up-to-date  machines. 
The  old  machines  are,  however,  clumsy  and  slow,  and  are  not  favored  in  match  games. 
This  suggests  the  advisability  of  beginners,  who  may  practise  the  game  on  any  level  field 
or  piece  of  waste  ground  larger  or  smaller  than  the  dimensions  of  a  polo  field,  taking  their 
first  lessons  on  old  or  cheap  machines,  more  expensive  bicycles  being  adopted  as  the  players 
become  proficient.  Games  can  be  played  between  pairs  of  players,  teams  of  three,  and 
teams  of  four  on  each  side,  allowing  fifteen  minutes  to  each  period  of  play,  and  ten  minutes' 
rest  between  periods. 


George  W.   Kendrick  jd. 


Polo  in  America 


i6i 


\ 


A  few  years  ago  some  ot  the  gentlemen  at  Tuxedo  started  to  build  a  pt)lo 
ground  there.  Among  the  prime  movers  were  Amos  T.  French,  Richard  Morti- 
mer, and  Pierre  Lorillard,  Jr.  Mr.  W.  W.  Astor  gave  the  Tuxedo  Club  a  cup 
to  be  competed  for.  Their  efforts,  however,  were  not  crowned  with  success. 
The  ground  settled  so  each  year  that  it 

was  of  no  use,  and  after  repeated  efforts  ^,^-^^        ^~~^~, 

to  make  it  solid,  in  which  something  like 
thirty  thousand  dollars  was  spent,  the 
ground  had  to  be  finally  abandoned  with- 
out a  game  ever  having  been  played  on 
it.  In  1895  the  cup  was,  with  the  con- 
sent of  Mr.  Astor,  given  to  the  Polo  As- 
sociation to  be  used  as  a  Championship 
trophy ;  and  the  winners  of  it  for  the 
several  years  will   be  tound  in  the  table. 

Some  of  the  Western  clubs  have 
good  strong  men  on  their  teams,  and  the 
St.  Louis  team  is  especially  strong.  They 
have  played  at  Buffalo  and  Chicago,  and 
it  was  hoped  that  the  Lakewood  team 
would  go  West  in  1900  to  play  them. 
It  is  the  misfortune  of  the  Eastern  men 
that  they  have  not  had  more  opportunity 
of  foregathering  with  both  the  St.  Louis 

and  Chicago  teams,  and  it  would  be  interesting  to  see  how  their  teams  compare 
with  ours.  In  the  handicap  list,  Mr.  Charles  W.  Scudder  of  St.  Louis  is  rated 
at  six  goals,  and  Messrs.  Samuel  C.  Davis  and  G.  Herbert  Walker  are  rated  at 
five  goals  each.  These  handicaps  are  the  result  of  the  best  information  the 
committee  can  get,  but,  until  there  has  been  a  chance  for  the  Eastern  and  West- 
ern teams  to  meet,  the  figures  can  hardly  be  considered  final.  The  same  might 
be  said  of  the  Onwentsia  team,  on  which  Mr.  W.  W.  Keith  is  rated  at  three 
goals  and  Mr.  F.  J.  Macky  at  four  goals.  The  St.  Louis  Club  has  a  magnifi- 
cent new  club-house — the  old  one  was  destroyed  by  fire — and  up  to  recently  the 
club  received  very  active  support  from  the  late  Charles  Hodgman,  its  delegate. 
He  came  on  every  year  to  the  annual  meeting,  and  was  the  life  of  the  meeting. 

An  interesting  feature  of  the  Polo  outlook  is  supplied  by  a  new  factor.  At 
the  instance  of  Mr.  Henry  M.  Earl,  who  was  formerly  Master  of  the  Chevy 
Chase  hounds  at  Washington,  the  Squadron  A  Polo  Club  was  formed  this 
year.  As  may  be  seen  from  the  handicap  list,  this  is  the  largest  club  in  the 
country,   and   consists   of  fifty-eight   members — Meadowbrook   has  thirty-seven. 


Allan  Forbes. 


1^2  Polo  in  America 


The  men  have  been  practising  three  days  a  week  for  some  time  on  the  grounds 
of  the  Westchester  Club,  and  they  will  have  a  team  in  the  field  next  year  that 
will  he  able  to  hold  its  own.  There  is  a  movement  on  foot  to  develop  Polo 
among  the  cavalry  organizations  by  offering  special  prizes  for  them,  and,  with 
such  splendid  bodies  of  horsemen  as  Troop  A  of  New  York,  the  City  Troop  of 
Philadelphia,  which  is  the  oldest  and  most  aristocratic  body  of  horse  in  the 
country,  the  Essex  Troop  of  Newark,  and  possibly  Troop  C  of  Brooklyn,  it 
should  be  possible  to  develop  a  lot  of  good  players.  The  City  Troop  contains 
a  good  many  of  the  Devon  and  Philadelphia  Country  Club  players,  so  they  could 
make  a  strong  showing — in  fact,  I  believe  they  have  already  played  Polo  as  a 
City  Troop  team. 

The  Polo  Association  originated  at  a  dinner  held  at  my  house  in  1890. 
The  first  handicapping  had  been  done  by  Mr.  Herbert  two  or  three  years  before 
this,  for  the  Turnure  cups  and  the  Herbert  trophies. 

When  the  Association  was  formed  the  handicapping  was  given  over  into 
the  hands  of  a  committee.  Since  then,  all  matches,  unless  otherwise  specified, 
are  played  under  a  handicap.  The  highest  handicap  a  player  can  carry  is  ten 
goals,  and  he  is  held,  according  to  his  playing  ability,  from  ten  goals  down  to 
zero.  No  new  player  is  allowed  to  play  in  a  match  with  a  lower  handicap  than 
two.  This  clause  was  intended  to  prevent  a  good  but  unknown  player  entering  a 
match  at  much  less  than  his  real  value.  The  handicaps  are  revised  every 
month,  or  practically  so,  by  a  committee,  and  the  interesting  thing  about  the 
deliberations  is  the  unanimity  with  which  the  members  of  the  committee 
agree;  it  shows  that  the  system  can  be  depended  upon  to  give  good  results.  At 
a  meeting  of  the  committee  last  summer  eight  or  ten  outsiders  were  called  in 
for  their  opinions  as  to  certain  handicaps,  and  in  nearly  every  instance  they 
agreed  exactly  with  the  judgment  of  the  committee.  The  scores  at  matches 
are  often  a  pretty  good  indication  of  how  carefully  the  committee  does  its 
work.  Frequently  the  score  comes  out  even,  or  is  won  or  lost  by  a  quarter  of 
a  goal.  It  must  be  obvious  that  the  lower  the  handicap  under  which  a  team 
plays  the  more  chance  it  has  of  winning,  and  yet  there  are  players  who  object 
to  having  their  handicaps  reduced.  They  seem  to  think  that  a  reduced  handicap 
is  a  slur  on  their  ability.  Apparently  they  do  not  recognize  that  where  a  man 
is  playing  for  his  team  he  may  try  to  get  his  handicap  reduced  to  give  his  team 
that  much  more  advantage.      As  in  football,  it  is  the  best  team  work  that  counts. 

I  make  no  pretence  that  this  is  an  adequate  or  complete  account  of  Polo  in 
America.  I  can  only  hope  that  some  of  the  principal  points  of  interest  have 
been  jotted  down  here  for  the  benefit  of  the  future  historian. 


^^r^^       <^'^.r-^^-<-<~ 


POLO   IN  ENGLAND 

BY   FOX  HALL    KEENE 


N  the  necessarily  brief  account  which  I  am  to  give  of  the  game 
of  Polo  as  it  exists  in  England  at  the  present  day,  I  do  not  pro- 
pose to  go  fully  into  its  history.  It  was  first  played  about  the 
year  1872,  in  a  very  mild  sort  of  way,  the  game  gradually  im- 
proving from  year  to  year.  About  1880  the  Peat  brothers  began 
their  wonderful  career  as  Polo  players,  which  continued  year  after 
year.  As  far  as  I  can  remember,  they  were  defeated  on  two  occasions  only. 
At  that  time  they  played  what  is  known  as  the  "rounding"  game;  and  it  was 
only  when  John  Watson  returned  from  India  to  England  that  they  adopted  the 
straight  "up  and  down  the  field"  game  as  it  was  played  in  India.  I  think, 
however,  that  the  Peats  defeated  a  team  of  which  Watson  was  captain,  they  play- 
ing the  rounding  game  against  the  "  back-handers"  of  the  Watson  team.  At  the 
present  time  this  seems  a  most  wonderful  performance  on  the  part  of  the  Peats; 
but  of  course  everything  was  in  their  favor.  The  competition  was  much  less 
than  it  now  is;  their  ponies  were  infinitely  better  than  the  ponies  of  the  Watson 
team,  which  gave  them  a  great  advantage;  whereas  now,  everyone  has  excel- 
lent ponies  and  it  would  be  quite  impossible  for  any  single  team  to  monopolize 
the  best.  Nevertheless,  the  reign  of  the  Peats  will  always  be  regarded  in  Eng- 
land and  elsewhere  as  most  phenomenal.  To  John  Watson,  however,  must 
be  given  the  tribute,  justly  due,  of  having  introduced  into  England  from  India 
the  style  of  game  that  is  now  played  all  over  the  world:  that  of  backing  instead 
of  rounding  the  ball,  or  the  straight  up  and  down  the  field  game.  Watson  showed 
this  to  be  the  correct  style  of  play ;  and  it  was  the  Hurlingham  team,  of  which 
he  was  captain  in  1886,  that  established  this  style  in  America  upon  a  sound  and 
permanent  basis,  we  having  been  entirely  mistaken,  up  to  that  time,  as  to  the 
style  of  game  played  in  England.  There  has  been,  from  year  to  year,  great 
improvement  since  1886. 

There  are  many  regimental  Polo  teams  playing  each  year,  these  includ- 
ing some  of  the  best  players.  Their  match-games  are  most  interesting  and  are 
extremely  well  attended.  Their  team  play  and  combination  are  usually  very 
good ;  but  it  has  been  found  that  the  best  civilian  teams,  as  a  rule,  can  beat  them. 
Many  of  the  regimental  players  learn  the  game  in  India,  where  it  is  very  scien- 
tifically played,  the  grounds  being  so  good  that  greater  accuracy  is  possible  with 
fewer  misplays  than  elsewhere. 

There  has  been  so  much  discussion  in  regard  to  the  relative  merits  of  Eng- 


j(ji  Polo  in   England 


lish  and  American  ponies,  that  it  may  be  interesting  to  some  for  me  to  give  my 
views  on  this  question.  While  I  do  not  claim  that  American  ponies  are  better, 
I  am  confident  that  they  are  quite  as  good,  take  them  day  in  and  day  out,  as 
the  English.  They  certainly  have  as  much  speed,  stay  quite  as  long,  and,  if  any- 
thing, are  a  little  less  difficult  to  play.  It  must  be  understood  that  I  am  speak- 
ing of  the  very  best,  full-sized  ponies ;  for  small  ponies  are  at  a  great  disadvan- 
tage when  played  against  those  of  larger  size.  I  hnd  that  American  ponies  are 
as  good  at  "riding  off,"  turn  more  readily,  and  hit  all  in  a  bunch  when  they  do 
hit.  The  English  pony  is  superior  in  quality,  as  far  as  looks  go,  being  rather 
higher  on  the  leg  and  having  more  length.  The  length  makes  them  go  fast,  but 
does  not  help  them  in  turning.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  for 
every  first-class  American  pony,  the  English  have  a  dozen;  and  any  American 
team  on  a  Polo  tour  through  England  requires  a  stud  of  the  very  best  to  compete 
with  first-class  English  teams — all  must  be  good,  with  none  moderately  good. 

It  is  often  asked  if  we  should  have  a  fair  chance  of  beating  the  best  teams 
in  England ;  and  I  must  say  that  this  is  a  very  difficult  question  to  answer  satis- 
factorily. At  our  own  game,  with  no  "off-side"  play  and  no  hooking  of  sticks, 
I  think  we  should  win,  as  we  play  a  more  "  nippy  "  game  than  the  English,  and 
I  believe  we  take  more  advantage  of  our  opportunities  for  hitting  goals,  our 
game  giving  us  more  chances  of  striking  for  goal;  but  what  our  chances  would 
be  at  the  English  style  of  game  is  quite  another  question.  The  English  certainly 
understand  the  science  of  Polo  well,  play  in  their  places  to  perfection,  and  hit 
strongly  back  and  forward;  but  with  all  that  there  is  little  individuality  in  their 
play ;  it  is  orthodox  throughout ;  and  our  individuality  might,  perhaps,  help  us 
out  to  some  extent. 

The  duties  of  number  one,  as  the  game  is  played  in  England,  are  hard  in- 
deed. He  must  keep  himself  on  side  all  the  time  and  be  quick  enough  to  get 
to  his  "back"  when  a  stroke  comes  through.  This,  as  can  readily  be  seen, 
gives  the  back  the  chance  of  riding  the  one  instead  of  the  reverse.  Our  ones  may 
roam  about  the  field  and  dart  in  upon  the  back  at  the  most  unexpected  angles. 
I  think,  therefore,  it  is  more  difficult  to  play  back  well  in  America.  The  backs 
in  England,  as  a  rule,  play  very  much  closer  to  the  game  than  we  do  in  America, 
as  they  are  not  punished  so  readily  from  a  scratch  hit ;  though  they  always  have 
the  advantage  that  the  off-side  play  gives  at  the  start  to  the  back,  which  is  at 
least  a  length,  and  probably  much  more.  In  the  play  of  numbers  two  and  three 
there  is  little  difference  in  the  styles  of  the  two  countries. 

American  players  have  always  wondered  that  so  few  goals  are  made 
in  matches  in  England;  and  it  gives  rise  to  no  comment  indeed,  when  a 
score  is  2 — i  in  an  important  game — in  fact,  one  feels  fairly  safe  with  an  ad- 
vantage of  one   goal    and    twenty  minutes   more    to    play.      Why  is   this?      It  is 


Polo  in   England  i6^ 


because,  in  England,  every  player  is  better  in  his  respective  place;  there  is  less 
chance  of  a  "flukey"  run,  and  there  are  fewer  chances  for  a  clean  hit  for  goal, 
there  being  always  someone  riding  you  off  or  endeavoring  to  hook  your  stick, 
and  this  often  when  the  ball  is  so  close  to  goal  that  in  America  a  goal  would  be 
nearly  a  certainty.  In  England,  the  goal  is  saved,  as  one  cannot  get  a  chance 
to  strike  owing  to  the  hooking  of  his  stick.  The  back,  having  such  a  great 
advantage,  returns  ball  after  ball  that  he  would  be  lucky  to  get  to  at  all  in 
American  Polo. 

In  England  the  rules  are  extremely  well  observed,  and  the  game  is  much 
safer  than  in  America,  even  though  the  penalties  are  not  so  severe  as  they  might 
be.  Crossing  is  strictly  punished,  but  I  think  there  is  some  unnecessary  calling 
of  fouls.  A  player  will  often  call  out  at  a  distance  of  many  yards  before  any 
cross  could  possibly  occur. 

It  is  easier  to  play  through  a  match  in  England  than  in  America  chiefly  by 
reason  of  the  climate;  but  playing  on  end  six,  tens,  is  easier,  as  one  does  not 
have  to  sustain  his  effort  for  so  long  a  time  as  in  matches  in  America.  There 
is  time  between  goals  only  to  walk  back  to  the  centre  and  at  the  end  ot  each 
ten,  only  sufficient  time  to  change  ponies  quietly. 

The  grounds  in  England  are  excellent,  Hurlingham,  Ranelagh,  and  Rugby 
being  quite  perfect.  The  turf  is  sound  and  firm,  and  the  surface  is  level  and 
admirably  well  cared  for.  There  are  many  other  grounds  throughout  England 
that  are  good,  and  where  Polo  is  played  a  great  deal  during  the  year,  but  the 
very  best  Polo  is  seen  on  the  grounds  about  London. 

Polo  is  played  in  England  in  the  most  sportsmanlike  manner  possible  and 
in  a  very  friendly  way;  and  any  player  with  the  welfare  of  the  game  at  heart 
may,  I  think,  feel  sure  of  a  cordial  reception. 


'T^^.^-ce /CU^ 


POLO    PONIES 

BY   H.    L.    HERBERT 


O  every  phase  of  the  game  of  Polo  there  are  two  players — one  is 
the  man  who  hits  the  ball,  the  other  the  pony  under  him.  The 
plaudits  of  the  many  are  for  the  man ;  they  do  not  appreciate  the 
skill  and  pluck  and  quickness  of  thought  and  action  which  the 
four-footed  player  brings  into  the  game.  But  the  experts  on 
the  side  lines  know.  They  do  not  miss,  in  the  rush  of  the  play, 
the  sudden  checks  and  recoveries,  cat-like  in  quickness,  made  by  the  gallant 
little  ponies  ;  their  speed  in  following  the  flying  ball  as  it  shoots  across  or  down 
the  held,  and  the  masterly  swerve  that  puts  the  rider  in  the  right  spot  for  a 
hard  stroke  at  just  the  right  moment,  or  their  persistence  in  bumping  or 
crowding  sideways  at  full  speed  when  called  upon  to  ride  out  an  opponent. 
And  after  the  contest,  when  heated  riders  are  coming  in  to  receive  the  congrat- 
ulations or  condolences,  the  knowing  ones  are  quietly  appraising  the  worth  of 
soine  little  nag  that  has  perhaps  doubled  in  value  by  that  day's  play.  Almost 
any  man  of  good  physique,  stout  heart,  and  quickness  of  eye  and  muscle,  with  a 
fondness  for  equestrianism,  can  train  himself  into  a  fairly  good  Polo  player. 
And  almost  any  sound,  well-bred  pony  can  be  made  into  a  fairly  good  polo 
pony,  with  time  and  patient  handling,  and  the  chances  are  as  about  one  to  ten 
that  he  may  turn  out  to  be  a  star  if  he  falls  into  proper  hands  when  his  educa- 
tion is  begun.  Fortunately  the  Polo  players  of  the  United  States  are  not  obliged 
to  devote  much  time  to  the  schooling  of  ponies,  except  the  few  who  take  it  up 
as  a  pastime,  for  the  ponies  come  to  us  from  the  Far  West,  practically  ready- 
made.  The  horses  used  by  the  ranchmen  to  rope  and  round  up  their  herds  of 
cattle  on  the  plains,  and  known  as  cow  ponies,  acquire  the  education  in  that  way 
which  tits  them  for  the  Polo  field.  To  be  sure,  some  show  greater  adaptability 
than  others.  We  all  know  that  members  of  the  equine  race  vary  in  intelligence 
and  temperament  quite  as  much  as  members  of  the  human  race,  and  are  often- 
times made  vicious  or  tractable  by  the  treatment  they  receive.  The  ranchman 
usually  treats  them  with  the  greatest  harshness  and  uses  the  severest  of  all  bits. 
They  get  little  care  and  less  food,  and  when  they  arrive  East  they  are  either 
meek  and  submissive  or  are  on  the  alert  to  resent  with  heels  or  teeth  the  rough 
handling  their  life  on  the  ranch  led  them  to  expect.  If  they  happen  to  fall  into 
the  hands  of  an  experienced  horseman  they  quickly  improve  in  strength,  speed, 
condition,  and  disposition,  without  losing  the  habit  of  obedience.  If,  however, 
he   goes  into   the   ownership   of  a   player   who   is   not   particularly  skilful,  he  is 


H.  L.  Herbert. 

Chairman  of  the   Polo  Association. 


W.   W.  Keith. 


Charles  Wheeler. 


Polo  Ponies 


i6g 


pretty  sure   to   acquire   tricks   and   grow  foxy   in    the   game.      In   other  words, 
through   being  grain-fed   and  well-groomed  and   ridden  with  comfortable  bits, 
they  get  above  themselves  and  will  sometimes  take  advantage  of  the  new  and 
inexperienced   owner.      If  the  rider  happens  to  be  heavy-handed  the  pony   will 
soon   begin   to   take    hold   of  the    bit,   and    in   a   little   while  is    a   rank   puller, 
one   of  the   worst  faults   a    polo    pony   can    have.      The    natural   tendency   of  a 
green  player  is  to  take  a  pull  at  the  pony's 
mouth  when  approaching  the  ball   at  full 
speed   in   order   to  steady  himself  and   the 
pony  tor  the  stroke  he  is  about  to  make ; 
he  is  likely  once  or  twice  during  the  day's 
practice  to  miss  the  ball  and  let  the  mallet        ' 
swing   up    into   the    pony's  face.      A    very 
few  mistakes   of  that  sort   leads   the   little 
fellow  to  anticipate  the  unpleasantness,  and 
he  soon  becomes  both  ball  and  mallet  shy. 
The  education  of  years  can  thus  be  spoiled 
in   a   few  days.      In   the   hands   of  a   good 
horseman   they   may   have    the    same    care 
and  grooming,  the  same  comfortable  sad- 
dles and   bits,  they  are   treated  with  equal 
kindness,  but  with  it  all  a  degree  of  firm- 
ness which  goes  with  skill.      In  such  hands 
the  pony  is  always  obedient,  he  grows  to 
like  the  game,  and  goes  into  the  contest  with 
all  the  dash  and  determination  ot  his  rider. 
The  English  home-bred  pony  escapes 
the    early   hardships  which   the   American 
prairie-bred  pony  is  obliged  to  endure;   he 
is,  so  to  speak,  born  in  the  purple;  he  is 

comfortably  cared  for  and  housed  from  the  day  he  is  foaled.  He  is  regis- 
tered with  his  ancestry  in  the  Polo  Pony  Stud  Book,  and  at  a  proper  age  he 
is  taken  up  to  be  carefully  and  systematically  educated  for  his  vocation  in  life, 
he  is  taught  the  rudiments  of  the  game  through  the  kindest  treatment,  and 
the  education  is  seldom  completed  in  less  than  two  years.  He  must  not  be 
frightened  during  all  of  this  time  by  any  sort  of  rough  play,  and  only  when  he 
has  acquired  absolute  confidence  in  his  rider  and  himself  is  he  permitted  to  play 
in  a  match  game.  He  then  goes  into  the  game  prepared  to  enjoy  the  heat  and 
fatigue  of  the  contest  with  the  same  spirit  in  which  the  highly  bred  race-horse 
enjoys  the  wild  rush  for  victory  on  the  home-stretch. 


William  C.  Eustis. 


I  yo 


Polo  Ponies 


The  English  thoroughbred  pony,  as  compared  with  the  American  cow- 
pony,  with  a  few  exceptions,  is  unquestionably  of  a  higher  type,  both  as  to  speed 
and  endurance;  it  is  not  so  universally  handy,  and  for  the  average  player  I 
am  led  to  believe  that   the  greater  handiness  of  the  American   pony  more  than 

counterbalances  the  greater  speed  and  endur- 
ance of  the  English  pony.  The  progress  and 
popularity  of  the  sport  in  the  United  States 
are  acknowledged  to  be  largely  due  to  the 
excellence  and  cheapness  of  our  native  ponies 
(which  are  being  improved  every  year  by  the 
infusion  ot  more  thoroughbred  blood),  and 
to  the  system  of  handicapping,  by  which  be- 
ginners and  players  less  expert  can  make  up 
teams  and  enter  the  tournament  events  with 
a  lair  prospect  ot  winning  prizes  from  the 
crack  teams  ot  the  Association,  who  have  to 
allow  the  beginners  a  certain  number  of  goals 
according  to  the  estimated  merits  of  each 
team,  within  a  time  limit.  This  handicap  is 
lixed  by  a  committee  ot  live,  selected  from 
the  officers  and  delegates  of  the  Polo  Associa- 
tion. Again,  the  pony  or  stable  ot  ponies 
plays  its  part  in  this  feature  of  the  sport,  for 
the  committee  must  consider  the  merits  of 
a  player's  mounts  in  order  to  estimate  his  value  to  his  team.  To  be  sure,  crack 
ponies  are  loaned  for  special  events,  but  a  player  with  a  superior  stable  will  and 
should  rate  higher  in  the  handicap  list  than  one  of  equal  individual  merit  hav- 
ing a  stable  of  interior  ponies.  In  other  words,  the  crack  player  is  sadly  crip- 
pled who  has  to  play  interior  ponies,  and  the  less  expert  man  can  often  do  effect- 
ual work  with  well-trained,  speedy  ponies. 

Standard  prices  for  Polo  ponies  have  gone  steadily  up  in  recent  years,  as  the 
game  has  grown  in  popularity  and  in  the  number  of  those  playing  it.  In  1890, 
when  the  Polo  Association  was  organized,  there  were  less  than  a  hundred  players 
enrolled.  Now  there  are  nearly  live  times  that  number,  and  the  game  is  spread- 
ing rapidly.  Under  these  circumstances  it  is  inevitable  that  the  price  ot  the 
animal  should  go  up  with  the  increase  of  the  demand.  Most  ot  the  ponies  are 
brought  here  from  the  West.  The  first  supply  brought  on  in  the  early  days  of 
Polo  were  shipped  by  a  man  named  Warner,  who  gave  the  players  the  pick  of 
the  consignments  for  a  set  price  of  $90  a  head.  In  a  year  he  had  raised  his 
price  to  $100.      Another  year  and  it  had  gone  up  to  $115.      From  that  time  on 


R.  L.  Beeckman. 


Polo  Ponies 


171 


there  was  a  steady  climb  until  it  was  finally  arranged  with  him  that  he  was  to 
bring  on  only  superior  animals,  which  had  already  shown  aptitude  for  the  game, 
and  for  which  he  was  to  get  $250  each.  Now  there  are  a  number  of  American 
ponies  on  the  field  that  are  valued  at  $1,000,  or  thereabouts,  and  some  that  could 
not  be  bought,  probably,  for  considerably 
more  than  that.  For  imported  ponies  as  high 
as  $2,000  has  been  paid.  The  three  ponies 
which  I  consider  to  have  been  the  best  in 
the  country  for  all-around  play  are  Thomas 
Hitchcock's  Maltese  Cat,  F.  Blackwood 
Fay's  Buckwheat,  and  George  J.  Gould's 
Henry  May,  all  native  bred. 

American  prices  for  American  ponies 
are  small  when  compared  with  the  prices 
paid  in  England  for  the  pick  ot  the  stables 
over  there.  This  is  not  due  entirely  to  the 
superior  quality  of  the  English  animals,  how- 
ever, though  they  are  certainly  unrivalled  tor 
high-class  breeding,  but  partly  to  the  greater 
demand  there,  owing  to  the  vogue  of  the 
game.  At  the  great  sale  of  the  Miller  Polo 
ponies  at  Rugby  two  years  ago,  perhaps  the 
greatest  sale  of  the  kind  that  has  ever  taken 
place.    Weasel   brought    $1,600,    Leap    Year 

$1,850,  Sermon  $2,100,  Lady  Gray  $2,400,  Elastic  $2,750,  Charmen  $3,050,  and 
Sailor  $3,750.  Here  in  America  the  chances  of  getting  a  splendid  pony  at  a  small 
price  are  much  better  than  in  England,  and  it  must  not  be  assumed  from  the  fact 
that  standard  prices  for  good  animals  here  range  from  $250  to  $1,000  that  many 
first-class  ponies  are  not  obtained  for  far  less.  Every  year  a  number  of  ranchmen 
from  the  Western  prairie  country  come  East,  bringing  several  car-loads  of  ponies, 
all  of  which  have  been  tried  with  mallet  and  ball  and  have  shown  some  evidence 
of  having  an  aptitude  for  the  game.  Upon  each  animal  the  owner  sets  a  price, 
based  upon  its  performances  when  on  trial.  But  occasionally  the  experts  are 
badly  deceived,  for  the  just  value  of  a  pony  cannot  be  ascertained  until  he  has 
been  grain-fed  for  several  months  and  played  hard  in  actual  competition.  Thus 
it  often  turns  out  that  the  high-priced  pony,  who  has  given  every  evidence  oi 
value,  proves  to  be  unfitted  for  hard  play  in  one  or  another  particular,  to  the 
vast  disgust  of  his  purchaser,  while  some  despised,  ill-looking  beast  blossoms  out 
into  a  first-class  performer,  "  plays  ball  "  from  the  throw-in. 

Such  a  pony  came  East  in  1897  "^  ^^  bunch  of  a  ranchman  who  sold  his 


Jay  B.  Lippincott. 


172 


Polo  Ponies 


stock  at  East  Williston.  Nobody  wanted  this  particular  beast,  a  plain,  unat- 
tractive-looking black,  light  in  flesh,  with  apparently  none  of  the  adequate 
points,  a  disposition  that  was  none  too  happy,  and,  besides,  a  bad  mouth.  The 
dealer    offered  the   pony    to   a  member   of    the    Meadowbrook    Club    for    $35. 

The  offer  was  accepted,  and  a  few  weeks 
later  the  despised  pony,  with  a  little  skilful 
grooming  and  bitting  came  to  present  such 
a  good  appearance  that  his  purchaser  was 
able  to  sell  him  to  another  player  for  the 
pleasant  price  of  $175.  Still  a  few  weeks 
later  that  pony  went  into  the  match  games 
of  the  season  and  made  his  reputation  as  a 
thoroughly  reliable  player,  so  that,  a  month 
or  so  after  the  Meadowbrook  man  had  sold 
him,  he  was  reckoned  to  be  worth  $500,  and 
has  since  been  sold  for  that  price.  Another 
participator  in  Championship  Games  is  the 
property  of  a  Rockaway  player,  who  bought 
him  from  a  ranchman  at  a  small  price  to  use 
in  harness.  The  animal  was  a  dun,  and  did 
not  seem  to  have  any  particular  spirit  about 
him.  One  day,  however,  his  new  owner 
rode  him  over  to  Polo  practice,  and  the  dun 
evinced  so  much  interest  in  the  whereabouts 
of  the  ball  that  the  clubman  decided  to  give 
him  a  chance  on  the  field.  The  pony 
"  caught  on  "  at  once,  and  by  the  end  of  the  season  was  reckoned  good 
enough  for  the  Championship  Games  Another  case  in  point  is  Lawrence 
Waterbury's  "Stumpy."  He  is  a  bay  pony,  white  on  his  face,  with  three  white 
feet,  and  stands  13  hands  3  inches  high.  In  1889  he  came  from  the  West  with 
three  other  ponies  and  was  sold  to  Mr.  Waterbury  by  John  Colford  for  %']<^. 
He  was  then  aged,  and  was  supposed  to  be  eight  or  nine  years  old.  From  the 
outset  he  became  a  brilliant  player.  His  understanding  of  the  game,  his  quick- 
ness in  turning  and  starting,  his  adaptability  to  all  exigencies  of  the  play,  and 
his  ability  to  "  ride  off"  an  opposing  pony  were  remarkable.  Mr.  Waterbury 
says  that  the  pony  might  have  stood  as  the  model  for  Kipling's  wonderful 
"  Maltese  Cat."  That  pony  has  been  played  for  eleven  years  and  is  still  sound, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  being  less  fast  than  he  was  formerly,  is  as  good  a 
pony  to-day  as  he  ever  was.  There  are  other  examples  in  plenty  of  high-class 
horses  being  bought  at  small  prices.      But  it  is  not  necessary  to  own  a  high-class 


Charles  Cary. 


Polo  Ponies 


173 


pony  in  order  to  play  the  game.  Good,  handy  ponies  are  plentiful  and  cheap 
in  this  country.  You  can  get  about  the  same  amount  of  exercise  and  sport  on 
a  pony  that  cost  $50  or  $j ^  as  on  one  that  brought  $500  or  $1,000,  even  if 
the  lower-priced  pony  has  not  quite  so  much  speed.  Nor  is  a  Polo  pony  a 
Polo  pony  and  nothing  else.  The  average 
animal  who  plays  the  game  proves  a  most 
useful  addition  to  a  stable  when  broken  to 
harness,  and  can  be  used  both  in  and  out  of 
the  Polo  season.  I  have  frequently  driven 
two  ponies  five  or  six  miles  to  the  ground, 
carrying  saddles  in  the  trap,  then  had  them 
dressed  and  saddled,  played  tor  an  hour,  har- 
nessed them  up  again  and  driven  back  home. 
One  can  get  just  as  good  general  service  out 
of  a  pony  as  out  of  a  horse  tor  saddle  or  in 
harness.  This  means  that  any  man  who  can 
afford  to  keep  a  couple  ot  horses  can  afford 
to  play  Polo,  and  by  sharing  expenses  with  a 
few  friends  or  neighbors  a  ground  can  be 
kept  rolled  and  clipped  for  a  iew  dollars 
each  the  season. 

The  growing  interest  in  Polo  among 
the  army  officers  at  the  cavalry  posts  should 
result  in  many  accessions  to  the  ranks  ot  good 
Polo  ponies  as  well  as  good  players.  Of  course, 
the  typical  cavalry   charger   is  very  dif^"erent 

from  the  Polo  pony.  Nevertheless,  when  a  thousand  Government  horses  which 
had  been  used  by  Roosevelt's  Rough  Riders  were  sold  at  auction  in  New  York 
after  the  Spanish-American  War,  a  considerable  percentage  were  found  to  be  within 
the  Polo  Association's  limit  of  14  hands  2  inches,  and  quite  a  number  of  them 
are  now  playing  the  game.  Governor  Roosevelt,  by  the  way,  is  an  enthusiastic 
Polo  player,  or  was  when  he  had  more  time  at  his  disposal,  and  he  has  expressed 
the  interesting  opinion  that  a  highly  effective  body  of  cavalry  for  certain  kinds 
of  work  would  be  a  regiment  made  up  of  horsemen  mounted  on  sturdy  ponies  of 
about  that  size.  Anyone  who  has  seen  the  drill  of  some  of  the  crack  regular 
cavalry  troops  can  perceive  the  value  of  Polo  training  to  a  cavalry  animal.  In  this 
connection  it  is  well  to  note  that  the  British  army  authorities  are  seriously  consid- 
ering either  giving  as  far  as  possible  some  Polo  training  to  the  cavalry  horses,  or 
of  mounting  some  part  of  the  cavalry  on  stout  ponies  that  have  had  the  training 
of  the  game.      This  subject  was  brought   forward,  I  believe,  by  the  wonderful 


Lawrence  Waterbury. 


ly/j.  Polo  Ponies 


riding  ot  Lieutenant  de  Montmorency,  in  the  charge  on  the  Dervishes,  at 
Omdurman.  His  charger  having  been  incapacitated,  he  went  into  the  melee 
mounted  on  his  favorite  Polo  pony,  and  with  three  hundred  men  of  his  regi- 
ment charged  several  thousand  Dervishes.  Not  only  did  he  come  through 
unscathed,  but  succeeded  in  coming  off  with  the  body  of  Lieutenant  Grenfell, 
who  had  fallen.  He  said  afterward  that  it  was  only  the  wonderful  quickness 
and  trained  intelligence  of  his  pony  that  had  saved  him  a  number  of  times. 
The  most  efficient  cavalry  in  the  Russian,  German,  and  French  armies,  the 
Cossacks,  the  Uhlans,  and  the  Chasseurs  d'Afrique,  are  all  mounted  on  what 
would  be  termed  ponies  rather  than  horses.  I  should  like  to  see  Polo  taken  up 
at  all  army  posts,  and  I  believe  that  it  would  pay  the  army  to  foster  it,  for  it 
would  result  in  better  service  from  both  man  and  beast. 

There  is  every  reason  why  Polo  should  become  a  popular  sport  in  every 
part  ot  the  country.  As  a  spectacle  it  is  unrivalled  ;  as  an  exercise  it  strengthens 
every  muscle  ot  the  body,  and  gives  health,  nerve,  and  readiness  of  resource. 
The  danger  is  inconsiderable  when  one  comes  to  reckon  up  the  lists  of  acci- 
dents. Finally,  good  ponies  can  be  had  so  cheap  that  a  man  of  very  moderate 
means  can  aftord  to  take  part  in  the  pastime.  And  the  ponies  themselves  love 
the  play.  They  show  the  same  spirit  of  emulation  as  a  human  player  ;  straining 
to  the  utmost  limits  ot  endeavor  when  the  contest  is  high  and  tierce,  crowding 
and  pushing  and  riding  off  with  bulldog  grit  and  determination,  and  finally 
appreciating  the  glory  oi  victory  to  the  utmost  when  time  is  called.  Some- 
times they  will  hang  back  at  the  outset,  and  even  refuse  to  go  upon  the  field  ; 
but  once  the  click  of  ball  against  mallet  is  heard,  their  ears  go  up,  the  lithe 
muscles  quiver  under  the  smooth  skin,  and  the  gallant  little  steed  is  one  with 
his  rider,  forgetting  everything  else  except  the  chances  of  success  in  the  exulta- 
tion of  the  most  inspiring  of  all  sports. 

For,  our  number  one's  a  dandy, 

Number  two  is  fast  and  handy. 

Number  three's  the  hardest  hitter  of  them  all; 

But  nothing  can  be  grander 

Than  that  solid  old  hack-hander 

When  our  back  is  being  hustled,  on  the  ball. 


|UL/H  tvLoil^ 


POLO  ASSOCIATION  MEMBERSHIP,   1890-1900 


1890 

Country  Club  of  Westchester,  Westchester,  N. 
Y. — Marion  Story,  R.  L.  Beeckman,  T.  A. 
Havemever,  Jr.,  E.  C.  Potter,  etc. 

Essex  County  Country  Club,   Orange,    N.    J. — 

John  Dallett,  Jr.,  P.  F.  ColHer,  T.   H.  Powers 

Farr,  Douglas  Robinson,  Jr. 
Meadowbrook   Club,  Westbury,  L.   I.,   N.  Y. — 

August  Belmont,  Thomas  Hitchcock,  Jr.,  O.  W. 

Bird,   R.   D.  Winthrop,    Charles   Carroll,  S.  D. 

Ripley,  H.  V.  R.  Kennedy,  E.  W.  Roby,  etc. 

Morris  County  Country  Club,  Morristown,  N. 
J. — G.  L.  Day,  N.  Henderson,  Benjamin 
Nicoll,  W.  B.  Lord,  etc. 

Philadelphia  Polo  Qub,  Philadelphia,   Pa. — John 

C.  Groome,  P.  S.  P.  Randolph,  Charles  E. 
Mather,  H.  C.  Groome,  Edw.  Morrell,  H.  P. 
McKean,  etc. 

Rockaway  Club,  Cedarhurst,    L.    I.,   N.    Y. — J. 

D.  Cheever,  Foxhall  P.  Keene,  J.  E.  Cowdin, 
Winthrop  Rutherford,  R.  La  Montagne,  E. 
La  Montagne,  etc. 

Westchester  Polo  Club,  Newport,  R.  I.— F.  O. 
Beach,  J.  L.  Kernochan,  W.  H.  Vanderbilt, 
Moses  Taylor,  etc. 

Oyster  Bay  Polo  Club,  Oyster  Bay,  L.  L,  N.  Y. 
— Theodore  Roosevelt,  Francis  T.  Underbill, 
Walter  C.  Tuckerman,  R.  H.  W.  Ferguson,  etc. 

1891 

Additional  Clubs 

Myopia  Polo  Club,  Ipswich,  Mass.  —  R.  G. 
Shaw,  2d,  G.  L.  Peabody,  A.  P.  Gardner,  R.  M. 
Appleton,  etc. 

Harvard  Polo  Qub,  Cambridge,  Mass. — J.  A. 
Burden,  Jr.,  C.  C.  Baldwin,  R.  Ives  Crocker, 
R.  L.  Agassiz,  etc. 

Hingham  Polo  Club,  Hingham,  Mass. — F.  B. 
Fay,  A.  H.  Alden,  G.  D.  Braman,  R.  L.  Coe, 
P.  B.  Bradley,  etc. 

Tuxedo  Polo  Club,  Tuxedo  Park,  N.  Y. — Amos 
T.  French,  Pierre  Lorillard,  Jr.,  De  Lancy  Nicoll, 
Winthrop  Chanler,  etc. 

1892 

Additional  Clubs 

Country  Club  of  Brookline,  Brookline,  Mass. — 
W.  F.  Weld,  S.  D.  Warren,  Robert  G.  Shaw,  2d, 
G.  A.  Nickerson,  etc. 


1893 

Additional  Clubs 

Country  Club  of  St.  Louis,  St.  Louis,  Mo. — 
Charles  Hodgman,  Charles  W.  Scudder,  J.  F. 
Shepley,  J.  W.  Scudder,  O.  L.  Mersman,  etc. 

1894 

Additional  Clubs 

Monmouth  County  Polo  Club,  Hollywood,  N. 
J.— R.  J.  Collier,  Dr.  Edw.  Field,  George  M. 
Pullman,  Jr.,  W.  S.  Throckmorton,  etc. 
Dedham  Polo  Club,  Dedham,  Mass.— S.  D.  War- 
ren, Percival  Lowell,  A.  R.  Weld,  E.  M.  Weld, 
C.  H.  W.  Foster,  Herbert  Maynard,  F.  J.  Stim- 
son,  etc. 

1895 
Additional  Clubs 

Chicagfo  Polo  Club,  Chicago,  111. — F.  J.  Macky, 
W.  F.  Farwell,  James  Carey  Evans,  W.  W. 
Keith,  W.  V.  Booth,  etc. 

Buffalo  Polo  Club,  BufFalo,  N.  Y.— R.  K.  Root, 
Seward  Gary,  Charles  Cary,  George  Cary,  H. 
Townsend  Davis,  Thomas  Cary,  J.  N.  Scatch- 
erd,  etc. 

Lowell  Country  Club,  Lowell,  Mass. — Thomas 
Talbot,  Colonel  Charles  H.  Allen,  Edw.  L. 
White,  Dr.  R.  E.  Bell,  etc. 

Devon  Polo  Club,  Devon,  Pa. — Charles  Snow- 
den,  Jr.,  George  Kendrick,  3d,  L.  C.  Altemus, 
C.  B.  Zeilin,  etc. 

1896 
Additional  Clubs 

Genesee  Valley  Polo  Club,  Geneseo,  N.  Y. — J. 

S.  Wadsworth,   H.  Smith,  Richard   Conover,  J. 

R.  Townsend,  etc. 
Point    Judith   Country   Club,  Narragansett   Pier, 

R.   I. — W.  A.   Hazard,   Edw.   Connor,  Walter 

Keith,  D.  T.  L.  Robinson,  etc. 
Washingfton   Polo  Club,  Washington,    D.    C. — 

Captain    Michler,   Clarence   Moore,    Henry   M. 

Earle,  David  Porter,  etc. 
Riding  and  Driving  Club,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. — G. 

Herbert    Potter,    Robbins    Woodward,    W.    C. 

Candee,  Howard  Boocock,  etc. 
Evanston  Country  Club,  Evanston,  111. — "^Villiam 

Bruce   Kirkman,   M.  M.   Kirkman,  C.  A.  Mc- 
Donald, George  F.  Slaughter,  etc. 

Lowell  Country  Club  resigned  in  l8g6. 


lyd 


Polo  Association   Membership 


1897 

Additional  Clubs 

Staten  Island  Polo  Club,  West    Brighton,   S.   I., 
N.  Y. — Morton  W.  Smith,  J.  C.  "Wilmerding, 
Jr.,  W.  S.  Blitz,  George  M.  Sidenberg,  etc. 
Chicago   Polo    Club   changed   its    name  to   On- 

wentsia  Club,  Lake  Forest,  111.,  in  1897. 

The   following  Clubs   resigned  in    1897  :   Hing- 

ham   Polo  Club,  Harvard  Polo  Club,  and  Genesee 

Valley  Polo  Club. 

1898 

Additional  Clubs 

Southampton    Polo   Club,    Southampton,    L.     I., 
N.  Y.— R.   J.    Collier,  Gordon    Paddock,   P.  F. 
Collier,  Philip  J.  Sands,  Jr.,  etc. 
Monmouth  County  Polo  Club  resigned  in  1898. 

1899 

Additional  Clubs 

Jacksonville  Polo  Club,  Jacksonville,  Fla.  —  D. 
F.  Mitchell,  Montgomery  Corse,  W.  H.  Baker, 
Lieutenant  William  Mitchell,  etc. 


Lakewood  Polo  Club,  Lakewood,  N.  J. — George 
J.  Gould,  P.  F,  Collier,  James  Converse,  R.  J. 
Collier,  Frank  J.  Gould,  etc. 

Somerset  County  Polo  Club,   Bernardsville,  N.  J. 

— Charles    Pfizer,   Jr.,    Charles    Squibb,    R.   L. 

Stevens,  E.  A.  Stevens,  etc. 

The  following  Clubs  resigned  in  1899:  Riding 
and  Driving  Club,  Evanston  Country  Club,  and 
Essex  County  Country  Club. 

1900 

Additional  Clubs 

Aiken  Polo  Club,  Aiken,  S.  C. — Thomas  Hitch- 
cock, Jr.,  E.  L.  Smith,  George  Smith,  etc. 

Camden  Country  Club,  Camden,  S.  C. — R.  L. 
Barstow,  Jr.,  K.  G.  Whistler,  C.  C.  Brown,  L. 
C.  Clyburn,  etc. 

Saratoga  Polo  Club,  Saratoga    Springs,  N.  Y. — 

]ohn  Manning,  John  Sandford,  E.  L.  Smith,  R. 

W.  Smith,  etc. 
Squadron  A  Polo  Club,  New  York  City. — Henry 

M.  Earle,  Charles  F.  Roe,  Everett  Colby,  etc. 

Jacksonville  Polo  Club  resigned  in  1900. 


'■'■Stumpy." 


POLO  ASSOCIATION  CUPS 

Individual  Prizes  for  Teams  of  Four 

J890  won  by  Meadowbrook  at  Newport. — August  Belmont,  Jr.,  T.  Hitchcock,  Jr.,  O.  W.  Bird,  and 
R.  D.  Winthrop. 

J89I  won  by  Rockaway  at  Cedarhurst. — J.  D.  Cheever,  J.  E.  Cowdin,  Foxhall  P.  Keene,  and  W. 
Rutherford. 

J 892   won  by  Harvard  at  Myopia. — C.  C.  Baldwin,  R.  G.  Shaw,  2d,  J.  B.  Eustis,  Jr.,  and  R.  L.  Agassiz. 

J893  won  by  Morris  County  Country  Club  (Independence  team)  at  Meadowbrook. — G.  L.  Day,  T. 
Hitchcock,  Jr.,  G.  P.  Eustis,  and  Benjamin  Nicoll. 

1894  won  by  Meadowbrook  at  Westchester. — G.  L.  Dav,  T.  Hitchcock,  Jr.,  H.  P.  Whitnev,  and 
Benjamin  Nicoll. 

J895  won  by  Country  Club  of  Brookline  at  Brookline. — W.  S.  Hobart,  R.  W.  Williams,  W.  H.  Good- 
win, and  F.  B.  Fay. 

J896   wfn  by  Meadowbrook  2d  at  Buffalo. — W.  C.  Eustis,  H.  K.  Vingut,  C.  R.  Duval,  and  M.  Duval. 

1897  won  by  Philadelphia  Country  Club  at  Bala. — J.  B.  Lippincott,  Jr.,  M.  G.  Rosengarten,  Jr.,  A. 
E.  Kennedv,  and  J.  F.  McFadden. 

J898  won  by  Dedham  2d  at  Dedham. — A.  R.  Weld,  Elton  Clark,  W.  H.  Goodwin,  and  J.  Crane,  Jr. 


CHAMPIONSHIP  CUP  AND  ADDED  CUPS 

1895  won  by  Myopia   at   Prospect  Park,  Brooklyn. — A.  P.  Gardner,  R.    G.   Shaw,  2d,   R.  L.  Agassiz, 

and  F.  B.  Fay. 
J896  won  by  Rockaway  at  Prospect   Park,  Brooklyn. — J.  S.  Stevens,  J.  E.  Cowdin,  Foxhall  P.  Keene, 

and  G.  P.  Eustis. 

1897  won  by  Meadowbrook  at   Prospect   Park,   Brooklyn. — W.  C.  Eustis,  T.    Hitchcock,  Jr.,   H.   P. 

Whitnev,  and  Benjamin  Nicoll. 

1898  won   by    Meadowbrook   at   Prospect   Park,   Brooklyn. — W.  C.   Eustis,  T.    Hitchcock,  Jr.,  C.  C. 

Baldwin,  and  H.  P.  Whitney. 
J899   won   by   Westchester  Polo   Club   by   default. — J.   M.   Waterbury,  Jr.,  J.  E.  Cowdin,  Foxhall   P. 

Keene,  and  L.  Waterbury. 
J900  won  bv  Dedham  at  Prospect  Park,  Brooklyn. — Allan  Forbes,  E.  M.  Weld,  W.  H.  Goodwin,  and 

Joshua  Crane,  Jr. 


A  Polo  Patron. 


FOX  HUNTING  AND 
DRAG  HUNTING 


RALPH  K  ELLIS 

M.  F.  H.  Meadowbrook 


The  Girls  Who  Ride 


ON  7nettled  hunter  seated  firm. 
In  foi'm  and  grace  complete. 
The  duUest  heart  will  light  afid  burn 
As  we  the  fair  Dianas  greet. 
No  picture  is  their  peer. 
For  Art  must  stand  aside ; 
For  them  I  shout  my  cheer, — • 
Hurrah  for  the  girls  who  ride  ! 


In  salon  they  may  smile 

Or  look  demure  and  sweet. 

And  glances  cannot  so  beguile 

As  those  that  grace  the   '■'■  meet"  ; 

Fresh  air  and  riding  are  blended  wine 

On  hunters  of  easy  stride ; 

Drink,  drink,  the  vintage  rich,  divine! 

Hurrah  for  the  girls  who  ride  ! 


With  cheeks  aglow  and  fashing  eye. 
Their  faces  with  radiance  lit, — 
Brave  knights  for  them  would  die. 
Of  danger  s  eye  would  sip  ; 
For  the  world  loves  pluck. 
And  courage  in  peril  tried; 
We  love  them  and  wish  them  luck  ;- 
God  bless  the  girls  who  ride ! 


Riding  is  a  symphony 

Most  soothing  to  the  mind. 

Brings  body  and  soul  in  harmony, — 

No  discord  can  you  find ; 

So  then  in  manly  chorus 

Let  it  swell  like  the  ocean  tide. 

With  voices  strong,  sonoivus, — 

Hosannas  for  the  girls  who  ride. 

— From  the  Songs  of  Myopia. 


FOX-HUNTING  &  DRAG-HUNTING 

BY    RALPH    N.     ELLIS 


OX-HUNTING   was  founded    in    England,  whence  it   comes  to 
j^  us.      Adaptability  is  an  American  characteristic,  and  the   history 

"Ir  of  hunting   in  America   is  an    illustration   of  this  national   trait. 

^^  The  original  aim  of  fox-hunting  here  was  not  different  from  that 

in  the  old  country,  but  the  necessities  of  the  country  have  led 
to  developments  that  differ  from  the  sport  there.  The  constant 
and  never  abandoned  ideal  of  hunting  in  this  country,  as  it  must  be  throughout 
the  world,  is  that  of  the  best  hunting-countries  of  England  and  Ireland.  There 
the  hounds  hunt  the  fox,  and  you  ride  to  the  hounds,  and  you  have  the  grandest 
and  most  serious  motive  for  action — that  is,  to  go — that  can  be  supplied  in  the 
world  of  pleasure. 

In  this  country  we,  too,  have  the  red  fox,  and  he  is  a  far  wilder  and  more 
difficult  animal  to  hunt  and  catch  than  the  fox  of  England.  He  is  an  absolute 
outlaw  from  his  birth.  Every  man's  hand  is  against  him,  and,  sad  to  say,  he 
cannot  show  himself  anywhere  in  this  land  without  being  shot,  excepting  in 
certain  parts  of  Pennsylvania  only,  where  the  farmers  and  the  country  at  large 
are  his  friends  and  protectors.  He  is  an  indefatigable  ranger  and  hunter;  once 
he  survives  the  inevitable  dangers  of  his  early  youth  and  learns  the  conditions 
necessary  to  his  existence,  he  has  probably  familiarized  himself  with  a  range  of 
country  that  may  extend  for  forty  miles. 

The  opinion  is  held  in  some  quarters  that  the  red  fox  is  not  indigenous  to 
America,  but  is  descended  from  specimens  that  were  undoubtedly  turned  out 
on  the  eastern  shore  of  Maryland  and  on  Long  Island.  The  better  scientific 
opinion  seems  to  be  that  our  red  fox  is  not  derived  from  the  common  fox  of 
Europe,  but  is  indigenous  to  this  country.  The  red  fox  of  America  will  average 
from  forty  to  fifty  per  cent,  larger  than  the  common  or  red  fox  of  England, 
this  superiority  in  weight  giving  a  corresponding  increase  in  strength,  that 
has  necessitated  for  his  pursuit  the  development  of  a  hound  different  from  the 
English  animal. 

While  we  have  this  splendid  game  to  hunt,  we  have  also  the  finest  of  enclosed 
grass  countries,  to  ride  over  which  on  a  good  hunter  is  the  finest  kind  of  sport. 
Our  difficulty  in  this  country,  however,  is  that  while  we  have  these  good  foxes 
— in  fact,  too  good — and  good  galloping  countries,  we  cannot  combine  the  two 
things  in  the  English  fashion.  The  fox,  when  he  can,  will  lurk  in  the  large 
woodlands,  and  when  pressed  to  breaking  cover  will  not  take  you  over  a  ridable 


1 82 


Fox- Hunting    iS  Drag- Hunting 


country,  or  over  the  best  parts  of  it,  which  is  the  thing  that  makes  riding  to 
hounds  a  great  object  of  horsemanship.  We  have  thus  been  driven  to  a  sepa- 
ration of  the  two  elements  of  the  sport.  The  fox-hunter  in  this  country  has 
frequently  no  idea  ot  riding  a  yard,  he  may  even  go  in  a  buggy  ;  and  one  of 
his   favorite    methods   is   to   sit    ow    a   fence  in   the  moonlight  and   listen   to   his 

hounds,  and  not  without  reason,  for  his  knowledge  of 
fox  and  hound  is  the  acquirement  of  a  lifetime.  Drag- 
hunting,  therefore,  has  much  more  raison  d'etre  in  this 
country  than  in  England. 

"  Brooksby,"  writing  in  the  Field,  after  a  day  with 
the  Meadowbrook  hounds,  observed :  "  'Tis  the  game 
(drag-hunting)  that  men  have  been  forced  to  accept  in 
lieu  of  fox-hunting,"  and  he  adds  by  way  of  commenda- 
tion, "and  certainly  it  cannot  be  laid  to  their  charge 
that  they  have  been  content  with  any  child's  play  as  a 
substitute." 

While  drag-hunting  has  become  a  hack  subject  of 
ridicule  with  the  newspapers,  as  a  matter  of  fact  I  know 
that  in  the  Meadowbrook  country  of  late  years  there  is 
nothing  more  democratic  in  its  effect  and  influence,  it 
being  a  leaven  in  the  community,  bringing  together  the 
men,  on  the  one  hand,  who,  coming  from  the  towns, 
have  brought  wealth  and  resources  into  the  country  and 
have  many  times  increased  the  value  of  the  lands,  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  men  who  own  and  till  the  lands. 
With  us  the  only  approach  to  riding  to  hounds,  or  hunt- 
ing in  its  full  significance,  is  seen  in  the  Genesee  Valley 
and  in  Chester  and  Delaware  counties  in  Pennsylvania 
(the  country  of  the  Rosetree,  Radnor,  and  Lima  hunts), 
and  perhaps  in  the  Green  Spring  Valley.  There  are  doubtless  other  fields  that 
could  be  developed,  as  Piedmont  County  in  Virginia  and  possibly  parts  of  Ken- 
tucky; but  they  are  not  known  to  hunting-men.  In  the  Meadowbrook.  country 
fox-hunting  is  being  developed  and  will  in  time  become  successful.  The  Genesee 
Valley  is  undoubtedly  the  best  hunting-country  in  America — possibly  the  whole 
of  the  Mohawk  Valley  is  good.  In  Geneseo,  however,  they  have  but  two  good 
hunting-months  in  the  entire  year.  The  greatest  discouragement  that  we  have 
to  face  in  this  country  is  that  the  two  months  in  the  year,  when  the  male  foxes 
will  run  bold  and  straight,  in  England  as  elsewhere,  are  January  and  February. 
With  us  these  are  the  months  of  snow  and  ice,  and  it  is  impossible  then  to 
properly  ride  to  hounds.      In  the  Southern  States  the  frost  does  not  stop  hunt- 


Redmond  C.    Stewart. 


Fox-Hunting    tS  Drag-Hunting 


1S3 


ing,  but  there  you  get  no  riding,  nearly  all  the  fences  being  wire,  and,  further, 
the  sandy  nature  of  the  soil  makes  it  difficult  for  hounds  to  hunt  there  at  all 
during  the  daytime. 

Hunting  has  had  a  long  and  honorable  history  in  the  United  States;  it  has 
been  steadily  followed  here  for  upward  of  150  years.  Certain  annals  and 
records  show  that  about  1740,  or  when  hunting  became 
first  established  in  England,  riding  to  hounds  was  not 
unknown  in  Virginia.  The  sport  was  then  but  a  desul- 
tory amusement.  The  sportsmen  of  that  time  seem  to 
have  been  equally  keen,  no  matter  what  was  up  and  run- 
ning— whether  deer,  fox,  coon,  or  rabbit.  Washington 
was  known  to  be  an  ardent  follower  of  the  chase.  At 
that  time  game  was  abundant,  and,  as  other  amusements 
were  few  and  restricted,  men  with  leisure  naturally  de- 
voted a  large  part  ot  their  time  to  the  field.  Thus  all 
the  large  landholders  and  other  people  with  country 
homes  maintained  packs  of  more  or  less  usefulness.  In 
1766  was  established  the  first  organized  hunt  in  America. 
Thirty-four  years  before  this  date  the  Schuylkill  Fishing 
Company  was  formed.  It  started  with  a  fixed  limit  of 
twenty-five  members,  its  title  conveying  its  original  in- 
tent. It  afterward  became  the  Gloucester  Fox-Hunting 
Club.  The  organizers  of  this  club  were  residents  of 
Philadelphia  and  of  the  County  of  Gloucester  across  the 
river  in  New  Jersey.  Its  hunts  were  somewhat  irregu- 
lar, yet  were  organized  on  a  definite  line.  It  later 
hunted  regularly  on  Thursdays  and  Fridays,  and  on  holi- 
days there  were  general  hunts  that  brought  out  large 
fields.      The  scant  records  left   of  its  existence  indicate 

that  it  found  plenty  of  sport,  for  the  company  often  sat  down  to  the  hunting- 
dinner  with  two  or  even  three  brushes  to  their  credit.  That  being  the  case, 
ancient  sportsmen,  I  take  off  my  hat  and  hasten  on,  so  that  I  may  not  be  forced 
into  comparisons  with  the  accomplishments  in  this  direction  of  later  genera- 
tions; the  incontestable  superiority,  however,  of  the  older  race  at  the  table 
may  perhaps  account  for  the  appearance  of  so  many  trophies  being  seen  at  the 
hunting-dinners. 

On  the  eve  of  the  Revolution  the  Gloucester  Hunt  attained  its  best  pros- 
perity. It  had  sixteen  couple  of  hounds  and  a  regulated  hunting-uniform  of 
"  dark  brown  cloth  coatee,  with  lapelled  dragoon  pockets,  white  buttons  and 
frock   sleeves,  buff  waistcoat    and   breeches,  and   a   black   velvet  cap."      But   the 


Edward  L.  Smith. 


1 84 


Fox-Hunting    tS  Drag-Hunting 


war  brought  all  this  to  a  sudden  end,  for  no  less  than  twenty-two  members  of 
the  club  joined  the  cause  and  rode  off  into  disputed  territory  as  the  "  First  Troop 
of  Philadelphia  City  Cavalry." 

At  the  conclusion  of  hostilities  the  club  resumed,  with  Samuel  Morris, 
jr.,  as  its  first  president.      He  occupied   this  office  until  his  death,  in  1812,  and 

during  that  time  the  hunt  furnished  con- 
tinued sport.  It  had  established  cordial 
relations  with  the  farmer,  and  was  free  to 
hunt  from  October  i  oth  until  April  i  oth, 
when  the  spring  tillage  began.  But  age 
at  this  period  began  to  tell  upon  its  mem- 
bers. They  had  lost  the  dash  of  their 
youth  ;  one  by  one  they  were  claimed  by 
death,  and  in  181  8  its  existence  came  to 
an  inevitable  end  with  the  demise  of  its 
Master,  Captain  Charles  Ross.  This  mis- 
fortune, however,  did  not  end  fox-hunting 
in  Pennsylvania.  Its  organization  had 
died,  but  its  spirit  was  still  there.  In  the 
country  where  once  the  huntsman's  horn 
had  awakened  the  sportsman's  heart  to 
new  life,  the  love  of  horse  and  hound  was 
never  lost.  Eager  sportsmen,  unwilling 
to  forego  their  pleasure,  continued  to  keep 
a  few  hounds,  and  at  every  farm-house 
and  country-seat  hounds  were  bred.  On 
occasion  they  were  turned  out  tor  the 
sport  of  friends,  and  these  neighborhood 
hunts  continued  a  feature  of  the  country 
for  many  years.  Holidays  often  saw  two 
or  more  packs  joined,  and  a  not  inconsiderable  field  following  on  their  home- 
bred horses.  In  Delaware,  Virginia,  New  Jersey,  and  especially  in  Chester  and 
Delaware  counties  in  Pennsylvania,  these  private  packs  flourished  without  in- 
termission, and,  by  breeding  and  selection,  the  pure-blooded  American  hound 
was  finally  developed,  and  is  now  found  in  every  State  in  the  Union,  in  more  or 
less  purity. 

As  time  progressed  and  as  the  hunting-seasons  approached,  the  various 
owners  of  a  couple  or  two  of  hounds  began  to  associate  them  together  for  their 
common  enjoyment. 

These   "trencher  hounds"    were  numerous,  and   while   they   had   ancestry 


Miss  Florence  Dobson. 


Fox-Hunting  and  Drag-Hunting 


185 


and  were  kept  free  from  contamination  in  breeding,  it  was  evident  that  the  lack 
of  intelligent  care  and  training  produced  many  inequalities  detrimental  to  the 
unity  of  the  packs.  This  system,  or  lack  of  it,  of  individual  ownership,  gradu- 
ally gave  way  again  to  the  pack  or  club  formation,  so  that  with  the  exception 
of  individual  packs,  which  stand  on  the  same  basis  as  the  club  packs,  the 
"  trencher  hounds  "  have  with  but  few  ex- 
ceptions been  absorbed  in  the  club  pack, 
cared  for  and  maintained  by  the  organ- 
ization with  a  view  to  the  performance 
of  the  pack  as  the  unit,  and  not  the  ex- 
ploitation of  the  individual  hound.  This 
process  of  absorption  congregated  the 
scattered  couples  into  certain  centres  suf- 
ficiently removed  from  similar  organiza- 
tions, and  in  time  this  location  and  activ- 
ity by  the  unwritten  laws  of  "  venerie  " 
were  recognized  as  conferring  rights  of 
a  semi-proprietary  nature  in  the  hunting 
of  the  adjacent  territory.  It  was  only  natu- 
ral that  the  owners  and  followers  of  these 
hounds  should  eventually  incline  to  bet- 
ter organized  sport,  and  the  result  was 
that  in  1859  the  Rosetree  Fox-Hunting 
Club  came  into  existence,  through  the 
efforts  of  George  W.  Hill  and  J.  Howard 
Lewis.  Mr.  Hill,  it  may  be  said,  was  bred 
to  the  sport;  for  more  than  sixty  years  he 
had  been  in  the  saddle,  when  at  last  old 
age  called  him,  and  few  indeed  are  the 
men    that    can   boast   this   record    in   any 

vocation  or  amusement.  With  the  origin  of  the  Rosetree,  hunting  once  more 
became  a  settled  feature.  It  drew  in  as  a  nucleus  all  the  sportsmen  in  the 
surrounding  country ;  it  hunted  consistently,  and  to  this  day  enjoys  a  large  fol- 
lowing of  keen  riders.  It  began  with  American  hounds  and  still  uses  them, 
always  believing  in  their  excellence.  It  is  hunting  pure  and  simple,  and  a  drag 
has  never  been  laid  across  its  country.  This  is  a  thing  I  hesitate  to  predicate 
of  any  hunting-country — for  the  temptations  to  do  so  surreptitiously  are  some- 
times irresistible.  Few  are  the  hunting-countries  that  are  absolute  strangers  to 
such  deception,  but  I  credit  the  Rosetree  with  being  the  shining  exception. 

It  was  the  desire  for  a  pack  of  hounds  nearer  home  that  led  to  the  forma- 


Miss  Bessie  Dobson  [Mrs.L.  C.  ^^  If  emus). 


Mrs.   J.  L.   Kernochan 
on  "Rebel." 


tion  of  the  Radnor.  The  country  about  Philadelphia  had  been  rapidly  devel- 
oping, and  so,  although  the  Rosetree  was  then  at  the  height  of  success,  it  became 
inevitable  that  another  hunt  should  spring  from  it.  In  the  Radnor's  original 
efforts  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  in  any  way  equalled  the  Rosetree,  its  predecessor 
and  rival.  Organized  in  1884,  it  progressed  slowly  until  1887,  when  Charles 
E.  Mather  was  elected  to  the  Mastership. 

Mr.  Mather  was  to  the  manner  born.  At  Coatsville,  Pa.,  seventy-five  years 
before,  his  grandfather  had  maintained  a  pack  of  hounds.  In  his  experience 
with  hunting,  hunting-men,  and  hounds  he  had  made  a  careful  study  of  the 
conditions  and  necessities  tor  consistent  sport,  and,  therefore,  when  he  came  into 
the  position  of  Master,  he  had  exceptional  capabilities. 

Mr.  Mather  set  about  the  organization  of  the  hunt  in  the  most  thorough 
manner,  and  spared  no  effort  to  make  the  Radnor  equal,  as  far  as  possible,  to 
the  best  organized  hunts  of  England.  He  imported  the  best  of  the  English 
blood  for  his  kennels  and  bred  to  it.  In  this  way  Mr.  Mather  for  many  years 
showed  sport  of  the  highest  class,  and  brought  to  himself  and  to  his  country  a 
great  reputation.  In  the  last  few  years,  however,  he  has  returned  to  the  use  of 
the  native-bred  Pennsylvania  hounds,  and,  by  all  accounts,  has  shown  unequalled 
sport.  Mr.  Mather  still  hunts  his  English  pack  at  Westchester,  Pa.,  with  the 
utmost  satisfaction  at  the  results  that  he  has  been  able  to  accomplish  with  them, 
having   persisted  in  breeding  the  English   hounds  after  his  own  notions,  and   in 


Mrs.  A.   Ladenberg 
on  "  Goodboy." 


the  end  obtaining  a  strain  that  he  thinks  thoroughly  suitable  for  use  in  the  Rad- 
nor country.  Further  importations  of  hounds  not  entered  to  fox  on  the  other 
side  proved  them  good,  he  says,  after  a  year's  experience  in  the  Radnor  coun- 
try. Mr.  Mather  himself  believes  comparisons  difficult,  but  the  English  pack 
is  his  favorite  and  the  better' suited  to  his  desires. 

To  discuss  the  relative  merits  of  English  and  American  hounds  for  use  in 
killing  the  red  fox  in  America,  at  once  introduces  us  to  matters  of  controversy, 
into  the  details  of  which  I  will  not  enter.  I  am  personally  of  the  opinion  that 
the  pure-bred  English  hound  is  useless  for  that  purpose,  to  go  no  farther,  by 
reason  of  one  deficiency  alone — lack  of  tongue.  This  is  a  fatal  defect  in  a 
country  where  there  are  large  areas  of  woodland  and  unridable  country;  it  is  a 
loss  of  half  the  stimulus  in  any  country. 

The  great  difference  between  English  and  American  hunting  is  this,  that 
nearly  the  whole  English  hunting-country  is  ridable,  while  in  America  it  is  just 
the  reverse.  The  American  hound  must  range  wide  and  hunt  on  his  own 
initiative,  and  the  pack  must  be  so  trained  and  worked  together  that  one  mem- 
ber of  it  scores  to  the  other  without  aid  from  the  huntsman.  A  good  pack  ot 
American  hounds,  when  spread  out  over  one  or  two  miles  of  territory,  will 
pack  and  get  together  by  every  sort  of  short  cut,  once  a  fox  is  running.  In 
England  covers  are  small,  and  the  huntsman  draws  the  cover  and  the  pack 
works  at  short  range  under  his  eye,  and   generally  the  breakaway  must  be  on  a 


1 88 


Fox-Hunting    tS  Drag-Hunting 


hot  scent  straight  away  for  the  nearest  Hkely  earth.  On  account  of  this  sort 
of  work  the  English  hound  is  well  adapted  for  the  purpose  of  the  drag  in  this 
country,  which  form  of  the  sport,  as  has  been  stated,  we  have  been  largely 
obliged  to  adopt,  for  this  very  unridableness  of  most  of  our  country.  The  Eng- 
lish   hound  seems   to  have  equal   speed  with   the  American  for  about  six  miles, 

but  not  the  latter's  endurance  nor  nose, 
nor  ranging  and  trailing  qualities  —  the 
imported  hound  is  unaccountably  awk- 
ward in  making  his  way  through  post 
and  rail  fences.  He  is,  however,  so  amen- 
able to  the  whip,  and  can  be  so  easily 
handled,  that  he  will  long  be  a  favorite 
for  use  on  the  drag.  The  American 
hound  is  nervous  and  excitable  and  is  a 
frequent  babbler,  and,  consequently,  is 
apt  to  mislead  all  those  who  are  not  his 
constant  followers.  Perhaps,  by  proper 
crossing,  a  hound  can  be  bred  that  will 
combine  the  excellencies  of  both.  Some 
native  packs  have  received  infusions  of 
foreign  blood,  I  believe  with  benefit. 
Mr.  Wadsworth  uses  English  hounds  with 
a  slight  infusion  of  native  blood.  I  have 
found  the  half-bred  hound  excellent,  both 
on  fox  and  drag,  but  without  doubt  the 
pure  fox-hunting  men  of  this  country 
reject  any  admixture  of  English  blood. 
Among  the  men  most  enthusiastic  followers  of  the  Radnor  are  Mr.  Har- 
rison K.  Caner,  Edward  F.  Beale,  Robert  E.  Strawbridge,  J.  Frank  McFadden, 
Lemuel  C.  Altemus,  B.  Frank  Clyde,  P.  S.  P.  Randolph,  Albert  E.  Kennedy, 
George  L.  Harrison,  J.  Rulon-Miller,  F.  Hutchinson-Galloney,  Maskell  Euw- 
ing,  and  W.  Struthers  Ellis.  Of  the  ladies  that  ride  with  the  Radnor  are  Mrs. 
Albert  E.  Kennedy,  Mrs.  Strawbridge,  Miss  Bessie  Dobson,  Miss  Florence  Dob- 
son,  Miss  Cassatt,  Miss  Gertrude  Wheeler,  Mrs.  Charles  R.  Snowden,  Mrs. 
John  R.  Valentine,  and  Miss  Katherine  Cassatt. 

In  1885,  at  Lima,  Delaware  County,  Pa.,  the  farmers  and  land-owners  in 
what  is  now  the  Lima  country  made  an  association  of  their  hounds,  but  it  was 
not  until  several  years  later,  in  1894,  that  the  pack  as  such  was  regularly  hunted 
and  cared  for  in  the  manner  that  has  brought  it  to  its  present  well-known  posi- 
tion.     Dr.  Charles  A.  Dohan   is  the  master.      Messrs.  L.  W.  and  S.  Riddle,  A. 


.'i  m 

1 

m 

. 

[ 

^^^P^ 

y 

^^^^^^^ 

Ross  W.   Whistler. 


Mrs.  Robert  E.  Strawbridge. 


Type  of  English  Hound  Used  at  Meadowbrook. 


Fox-Hunting    tS  Drag-Hunting 


igi 


G.  Okie,  William    Kerr,  Vincent    Litzenburg,  Charles   Yarnell,  and  others  are 
among  its  most  active  members. 

The   Lima   and   the    Rosetree  have  probably  the  best  hounds  for  running 
and    catching    red    foxes   that   exist  in   the   Northern   States.      How  they  would 
compare  with  Southern  hounds  has  never  been  put  to  the  test — probably  each  is 
better  in  its  own  country.    The  Southern 
hound  has  great  speed,  but  probably  less 
endurance   and    gameness.      But    in    all 
sports,  theories,  opinions,  and  convictions 
even  are  worthless  ;   there  can  be  no  proof 
of  such    things   on  paper,    and   the   only 
demonstration  possible  is  that  of  experi- 
ence and  by  competitive  trial. 

Farther  westward,  in  New  York, 
hunting  had  already  become  established. 
In  the  last  ten  years  of  the  eighteenth 
century  General  James  S.  Wadsworth 
came  from  Connecticut  to  the  Genesee 
Valley.  About  the  same  time  the  Fitz- 
hughs  moved  from  the  South,  bringing 
with  them  all  the  Southerners'  fondness 
for  the  sport.  The  Wadsworths  have 
ever  since  steadily  increased  their  prop- 
erty holdings,  and  each  generation  has 
done  its  utmost  to  preserve  and  beautify 
them.  In  the  neighborhood  there  was 
much  encouragement  to  sport ;  the  farm- 
ers in  the  valley  had  owned  and  hunted  fox-hounds,  and  Mr.  Wadsworth  can 
give  sport  without  ever  quitting  his  own  land. 

In  1876  the  Genesee  Hunt  was  formed.  In  1877  a  huntsman  was  em- 
ployed, and  the  organization  slowly  improved.  In  1879  Mr.  Austin  Wadsworth 
organized  a  private  pack,  and  thereafter  the  Genesee  Valley  Hunt  existed  not  as 
a  club  in  the  true  sense  of  the  term,  but  in  an  "  Association  of  gentlemen  who 
hunt  with  Mr.  Wadsworth's  hounds."  The  kennels,  hounds,  and  horses  belong 
to  him  and  he  pays  all  the  expenses  of  the  hunting,  the  "  club  "  limiting  its 
sphere  to  an  occasional  horse-show  or  ball. 

Mr.  Wadsworth  is  an  enthusiastic  apostle  of  the  sport,  believing  that,  with 
the  growing  scarcity  of  game,  it  is  by  far  the  best  and  most  democratic  country 
amusement.  He  has  been  much  more  anxious  to  interest  his  neighbors  than  to 
call  in  outsiders,  and,  to  use  his  own  words,  "  would  far  rather  see  a  farmer's 


E.  A.   Jackson. 


ig2 


Fox- Hunting    iS  Drag- Hunting 


boy  on  a  mule  at  a  meet  than  the  most  elaborate  creation  of  a  London  tailor." 
The  country  is  an  ideal  one  to  ride  over  and  is  full  of  foxes,  and  appeals 
to  all  ;  many  world-renowned  horsemen  have  raced  over  its  cattle-pastures,  gal- 
loped through  its  woodlands,  and  crashed  and  scrambled  (and  sometimes  sworn) 

through  its  gullies.  The  hunt  has  never  adopted 
"  pink  "  coats,  and  although  of  late  years  it  is 
supposed  to  have  a  "  blue-and-bufF "  uniform, 
and  the  older  members  wear  tall  hats  at  the 
"  Bleak  House  "  meet,  which  opens  the  season, 
pea-jackets,  flannel  shirts,  and  caps  are  much 
more  common. 

The  Master  has  also  tried  to  stimulate  an 
interest  in  good  riding  by  giving  prizes  for  vari- 
ous games  requiring  a  knowledge  of  horseman- 
ship, and  the  annual  sports  of  the  Genesee  Valley 
Hunt,  where  the  members  compete  not  tor  clown- 
ish "  gymkana,"  but  for  tent-pegging,  lemon- 
slicing,  and  such  things,  are  great  local  events,  to 
which  the  common  people  flock  in  crowds.  I 
take  the  liberty  to  quote  from  a  letter  of  Mr. 
Wadsworth's,  which  tells  us  better  than  any- 
thing else  the  character  of  his  sport  : 

"I  began  hunting  in  1876.  I  first  issued 
postal  cards  announcing  public  hunts  in  1880. 
I  began  by  having  drag  hunts,  but  soon  tired  ot 
their  monotony  and  took  to  foxes.  There  are 
any  number  here,  and  they  are  bold  and  run 
well.  It  is  only  when  hard  pressed  that  they 
take  to  ground.  The  game  is  to  follow  them 
till  they  do.  As  we  do  not  '  stop  '  we  naturally  do  not  kill  many,  but  we  have 
many  a  glorious  run  and  many  an  interesting  guzzling  course  to  follow. 

"  I  have  had  a  very  large  pack  [j^),  but  think  that  about  25  good  ones  are 
a  better  number  for  our  country,  which  is  an  open  rolling  one,  the  hillsides  in- 
tersected by  deep-wooded  ravines,  where  we  usually  '  find.'  The  fences  are 
mostly  rail  or  board,  but  on  the  north  side  there  are  many  walls  and  on  the 
lowlands  deep  ditches.  Wire  fencing  is  increasing,  however,  and  their  general 
adoption  means  the  end  of  the  sport.  My  country  is  bounded  in  a  general 
way  by  Honeoye  Creek  on  the  North,  Hemlock  Lake  on  the  East,  Dansville  on 
the  South,  and  the  'Wyoming  Valley'  (Pavilion)  on  the  West. 

"  I  use  crossed  hounds — i.e.,  from  the  best   English   kennels,  with  a  single 


Leander   W.  Riddle. 


Ralph  N.  Ellis,  M.   F.   H.,  Meadowbrook. 


J 


Mr.  Ellis's  Hunter  "  Baritone." 


Fox- Hunting    iS  Drag-Hunting 


195 


infusion  of  American  blood — finding  them  the  best,  tor  reasons  too  technical 
to  go  into. 

"  The  grand  beauty  of  fox  hunting,  the  beautiful  morning  rides  through 
the  hills  and  woods,  the  queer  lonely  places  in  the  midst  of  civilization  where 
one  would  hardly  go  on  any  other  errand,  the 
anxious  peering  search  for  the  quarry,  and  the 
mad  struggle  to  '  get  on  terms  with  the  hounds  ' 
when  the  game  has  broken  away,  are  lost  to  the 
drag  hunter,  who  knows  that  he  will  only  be 
out  a  certain  time,  go  a  certain  distance,  and  be 
carefully  led  clear  of  any  natural  or  artificial  ob- 
stacle requiring  more  than  a  very  limited  intel- 
ligence or  education  in  horse  or  rider." 

At  a  meet  of  the  Genesee  Valley  hounds 
you  will  generally  see  Mr.  James  S.  Wadsworth, 
Craig  Wadsworth,  Captain  Martin,  Julian  Ge- 
rard Buckley,  Seward  Cary,  Dr.  Charles  Cary, 
Trumbull  Cary,  Thomas  Cary,  William  Littauer, 
Mr.  Craven,  David  Gray,  Cary  Rumsey,  Robert 
Root,  and  Townsend  Davis.  Of  the  ladies  are 
Miss  Ewing,  Miss  Whiting,  and  the  Misses  Julia, 
Margaret,  and  Sallie  Cary. 

Mr.  Wadsworth's  "  Bible "  I  here  insert, 
with  reverence  and  faith  in  its  inspiration ;  I 
commend  all  hunting-men  and  women  to  daily 
commit  a  verse  of  it  to  memory  : 

"Of  the  Farmer. — You  have  no  business 
on  a  man's  land,  but  are  there  by  his  sufferance, 
and  he  is   entitled  to  every  consideration.      It  is 

no  excuse  that  you  are  in  a  hurry.  It  is  much  better  for  the  Hunt  that  you 
should  be  left  behind  than  that  a  farmer  should  be  injured.  If  you  take  down 
a  rail,  you  should  put  it  back.  If  you  open  a  gate,  you  should  shut  it.  If 
you  break  a  fence  or  do  any  damage  that  you  cannot  repair,  you  should  report 
it  at  once  to  the  responsible  officers  of  the  Hunt,  that  it  may  be  made  good. 
Although  you  may  feel  convinced  that  it  improves  wheat  to  ride  over  it,  the 
opinion  is  not  diffused  or  popular,  and  the  fact  that  some  fool  has  gone  ahead 
is  no  excuse  whatsoever,  but  makes  the  matter  worse.  The  spectacle  of  a  lot 
of  men  following  another's  track  across  a  wheat-field  and  killing  hopelessly 
the  young  plants  which  the  first  had  probably  injured  but  slightly,  is  too  con- 
ducive to  profanity  to  be  edifying  in  any  community. 


Robert  E.  Strawbridge. 


Mrs.   George  L.   Pea 
on  "Sepoy." 


»<r^Siif«*!C«.,>.y 


"  You  may  think  that  the  honest  farmer  deems  it  a  privilege  to  leave  his  life 
of  luxurious  idleness  and  travel  around  half  the  night  in  the  mud  tor  horses 
which  have  got  out,  or  spend  days  sorting  sheep  which  have  got  mixed  by  your 
leaving  his  gates  open  or  fences  down.      You  are  mistaken.      He  don't. 

"  Of  the  Master. — The  M.  F.  H.  is  a  great  and  mystic  personage,  to  be 
lowly,  meekly,  and  reverently  looked  up  to,  helped,  considered,  and  given  the 
right  of  way  at  all  times.  His  ways  are  not  as  other  men's  ways,  and  his  lan- 
guage and  actions  are  not  to  be  judged  by  their  standard.  All  that  can  be 
asked  of  him  is  that  he  furnish  good  sport  as  a  rule,  and  so  long  as  he  does  that 
he  is  amenable  to  no  criticism,  subject  to  no  law,  and  fettered  by  no  conven- 
tionality while  in  the  held.  He  is  supposed  by  courtesy  to  know  more  about 
his  own  hounds  than  outsiders,  and  all  hallooing,  calling,  and  attempts  at  hunt- 
ing them  by  others  are  not  only  very  bad  manners,  but  are  apt  to  spoil  sport. 

"  As  a  general  rule  he  can  enjoy  your  conversation  and  society  more  when 
not  in  the  field  with  the  hounds,  riders,  foxes,  and  damages  on  his  mind. 

"  N.  B. — The  profter  of  a  flask  is  not  conversation  within  the  meaning  of 
the  above. 

"  Of  the  Fox. — Don't  tag  after  the  first  whip  and  make  one  of  a  line  of 
sentries  around  a  covert.      How  can  a  fox  break  if  you  do  ? 

"  Keep  your  mouth  shut  when  you  see  a  fox  until  he  is  well  away  and  you 
are  between   him   and   the   pack.      Then   if  you  are   sure  it  is  the  hunted   fox, 


Mrs.  Bryce  Allan 
on  "Starlight." 

£ 

A. 

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\- 

stand  still  as  nearly  on  his  line  as  possible  and  yell  for  all  you  are  worth.  Don't 
cap  on  the  first  hounds,  but  let  the  huntsman  bring  up  the  pack.  Don't  gallop 
after  the  fox  by  yourself.      If  you  caught  him  alone  he  might  bite  you. 

"  Don't  '  give  tongue  '  on  a  woodchuck.  It  will  cause  you  humiliation. 
There  is  a  difference  in  the  tails. 

"  Of  the  Hounds. — Keep  away  from  them  at  all  times  and  every  time. 
Nobody  but  the  huntsman  and  whips  have  ever  any  business  near  the  hounds 
at  any  time,  and  particularly  near  them  in  front  or  behind.  Moving  in  front 
of  them  leads  them  on.  Moving  behind  them  frightens  them  and  drives 
them. 

"  Give  them  space  to  work  without  being  in  terror  of  their  lives,  and  don't 
keep  crowding  up  on  them  when  they  are  casting. 

"  Don't  get  between  the  huntsman  and  whips  on  the  road.  Keep  ahead 
of  him  or  behind  them.      The  space  between  belongs  to  the  pack. 

"Of  the  Rider. — Don't  say  'Ware  horse!'  to  the  hound.  Say  'Ware 
hound  !  '   to  the  horse. 

"  It  is  never  any  excuse  that  you  cannot  hold  your  horse.  You  have  no 
business  to  bring  out  a  horse  you  cannot  hold  any  more  than  a  biter  or  kicker. 
If  you  cannot  hold  him,  go  home. 

"  Never  follow  a  man  closely,  particularly  over  a  jump.  If  he  should  fall 
when  landing,  you  might   kill   him  while  helpless.      Take  your   own   line  and 


ig8 


Fox~Hunting    iS  Drag-Hunting 


keep  it.      Everybody  is  supposed  to  be  entitled  to  the  panel  in  front  of  him.     If 
you  don't  like  yours,  you  must  not  take  another  man's  till  your  turn." 

During  this  period  of  development   in  Pennsylvania,  Northern  New  York, 
and  elsewhere,  riding  to  hounds  had  begun  a  solid  and  permanent  development 

on  Long  Island.  "  Riding  to  hounds  " 
was  the  object  of  the  keen  horsemen 
who  created  the  Long  Island  sport, 
and  the  drag-hunt  alone  could  give  it 
in  perfection,  and  it  was  then,  and  has 
remained  ever  since,  the  best  riding 
country  this  side  of  the  water  —  at 
least,  that  is  known  to  any  hunt  club 
— and  for  the  reason  that  the  going 
under  foot  is  the  lightest  and  best  that 
can  be  imagined.  There  is  no  hold- 
ing clay  in  the  soil,  which,  conse- 
quently, never  bakes  hard  ;  the  drain- 
age is  such  that  the  heaviest  going 
known  to  it  is  lighter  than  anything 
found  in  England.  Much  of  the  coun- 
try is  like  a  bed  of  moss  and  otherwise 
largely  laid  down  in  grass.  The  tim- 
ber is  strong  but  reasonable  on  a  prop- 
erly schooled  horse,  notwithstanding 
the  usual  newspaper  exaggerations ; 
but  you  must  be  well  mounted,  and  he 
who  makes  a  serious  effort  to  do  so  will 
receive  his  reward.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  first  beginning  of  this  Long  Island 
sport  was  due  to  the  enthusiasm  of  two  New  Jersey  fox-hunters,  who,  through 
their  efforts,  had  established  a  pack  of  hounds  at  Hackensack.  They  were  Colonel 
Frederick  S.  Skinner  and  Mr.  Joseph  Donohue,  who,  in  i  874,  maintained  a  pack 
of  hounds  on  the  edge  of  the  Jersey  meadows.  There  had  been  fox-hunting  in 
this  vicinity  a  century  before,  when,  about  1770,  one  John  Evers  maintained 
and  hunted  a  pack  at  Hempstead.  Horses,  hounds,  and  huntsmen  were  im- 
ported from  England ;  and  Washington,  it  appears,  was  a  subscriber  to  the  pack. 
From  a  notice  posted  November  19,  1781,  by  the  Brooklyn  Hunt,  that  the 
hounds  would  throw  off  at  Denyse's  Ferry,  on  the  estate  of  Denyse  Denyse, 
Esq.,  at  the  Narrows  (now  Fort  Hamilton),  at  nine  o'clock  on  Thursday  morn- 
ing, and  that  a  guinea  would  be  given  for  a  good  strong  bag  fox,  and  signed 
Charles   Loosely,  it   appears   that   there  was  hunting   in   that   vicinity,  and   that 


Charles  E.  Mather,  M.  F.  H.,  Radnor 


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Fox-Hunting    iS  Drag-Hunting 


201 


such  an  organization  as  the  Brooklyn  Hunt  existed.  Denyse  Denyse,  Esq.,  was 
the  great-grandfather  of  H.  L.  Herbert,  Esq. 

The  Revolution  brought  an  end  to  these  pioneer  efforts,  and  until  the 
Hackensack  hounds  first  created  music  across  the  salt  meadows,  there  was  no 
hunting  about  New  York  City.  It 
was  the  plan  of  Messrs.  Skinner  and 
Donohue  to  draw  the  covert  on  foot 
and  then  retreat  to  their  buggy.  When 
hounds  killed,  however,  they  were  gen- 
erally there  or  thereabout  ;  although 
their  methods  were  not  endorsed  by 
any  previous  customs  of  the  hunting 
field,  you  could  not  beat  them  at  their 
game.  It  is  not  to  be  imagined  that 
all  these  possibilities  of  sport  should 
go  unnoticed.  Eventually  the  Hack- 
ensack hunt  came  to  the  ears  of  A. 
Belmont  Purdy,  F.  Gray  Griswold, 
Elliott  Zborowski,  William  E.  Peet, 
Robert  Center,  and  Thomas  Hitch- 
cock, Jr.  All  were  young,  one  or 
two  had  hunted  on  the  other  side,  and 
all  were  prepared  to  take  what  came 
and  to  offer  thanksgiving  for  the  meas- 
ure of  amusement  obtained.  One  by 
one  they  stole  across  to  Hackensack, 
and  the  Donohue-Skinner  pack  began 

to  have  a  following  of  straight  riders.  The  gentlemen  who  had  established  the 
hunt  still  kept  to  the  buggy,  but  welcomed  the  riders  who  flew  over  timber 
and  stone  and  went  out  of  their  way  to  get  it.  But  the  jumps  were  simple, 
I  am  told,  the  country  was  small,  and  the  going  slow. 

On  Thanksgiving  Day,  1876,  a  large  field  came  from  New  York  to  take 
part  in  the  proceedings.  As  a  result,  the  hunt  began  to  rise  into  favor,  many  be- 
ing drawn  to  it  in  the  desire  for  sport.  With  this  development  and  experience, 
it  was  found  that  both  the  hounds  and  the  country  were  unsuitable,  so  it  was 
decided  to  move  elsewhere.  A  meeting  was  called  in  the  rooms  of  Robert 
Center,  where  he,  F.  Gray  Griswold,  William  E.  Peet,  and  A.  Belmont  Purdy 
were  present.  Each  subscribed  $250,  and,  as  Mr.  Griswold  was  going  abroad, 
he  was  commissioned  to  select  and  to  ship  a  pack  of  hounds  to  this  country, 
which  he  did  upon  arrival  in  Ireland,  where  he  obtained,  through  Mr.  Thomas 


Edward  F.   Beale. 


202 


Fox-Hunting    (^  Drag-Hunting 


Turbitt,  of  Scribblestown,  a  pack  oi  harriers.  During  Mr.  Griswold's  absence 
his  associates  looked  about  for  a  suitable  country,  and  eventually  selected  the 
Hempstead  country.  They  obtained  the  lease  of  a  farm-house  on  the  same 
property  now  occupied  by  the  Meadowbrook  Club.  There,  in  1877,  was  estab- 
lished the  Queens  County  Drag  Hounds,  with  Mr.  Griswold  as  Master. 


F.  A.  B.  Port  man,  M.  F.  H.,  Warren  ton 
Hunt  Club. 


Captain  Samuel  D.  Parker,  M.  F.  H., 
Norfolk  Hunt  Club. 


A  circular  setting  forth  the  aims  and  objects  of  the  hunt  had  been  pub- 
lished in  the  country-side,  and  the  response  was  flattering.  Subscriptions  came 
in  readily,  and  the  first  meet,  on  October  4,  1877,  brought  out  a  great  crowd. 
It  was  an  interesting  occasion.  City  people,  horsemen,  farmers,  and  all  the 
country-side  were  there.  It  was  a  big  field — between  forty  and  fifty  riders — and 
every  mount  in  the  neighborhood  was  pressed  into  service.  Everything  was  in 
earnest,  and  to-day  the  names  oi  that  band  of  riders  have  a  familiar  ring  in  the 
ears  of  the  hunting-man.  There  were  William  Jay,  Elliott  Zborowski,  Her- 
man Oelrichs,  Elliott  Roosevelt,  William  E.  Peet,  John  Sanford,  Gussie  Clason, 
Charles  G.  Franklyn,  William  C.  Sanford,  Frank  Payson,  Lloyd  Brice,  Dr. 
James  Green,  H.  L.  Herbert,  Charles  G.  Peters,  Alfred  Gardner,  and  of  the 
ladies.  Miss  Hildegarde  Oelrichs  (later  Mrs.  Henderson),  Mrs.  Forbes-Morgan, 
Miss  Lucy  Oelrichs  (later  Mrs.  William  Jay),  Miss  Lucy  Work  (now  Mrs. 
Cooper-Hewitt),  and  Mrs.  Frank  Payson. 


Fox- Hunting    iS  Drag-Hunting 


203 


In  the  whole  field  there  were  perhaps  half  a  dozen  qualified  hunters,  but 
no  falls  are  recorded,  and  most  ot  the  field  appear  to  have  finished.  The  farm- 
ers looked  upon  what  seemed  to  them  an  entire  novelty  with  good  nature,  and 
even  cheerfully  replaced  the  broken  rails.  But  still  the  hunt  did  not  escape  all 
opposition,  for  the  Quakers  of  the  neighborhood  denounced  it  as  a  godless  em- 


Major   W.   A.  Wadsworth,  M.  F.  H., 
Genesee  Valley  Hunt. 


Dr.  C.  A.  Dohan,  M.  F.   H.,  Lima 
Hunt  Club. 


ployment,  and  Mr.  Henry  Bergh,  of  the  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty 
to  Animals,  added  his  protest  in  declaring  it  to  be  an  evil  s,port  and  unnaturally 
cruel.  To  answer  these  critics,  committees  of  one  each  were  appointed  in  the 
persons  of  Mr.  Gardener  and  Mr.  Purdy.  Nearly  the  life  of  a  generation  has 
passed  since  that  October  4,  1877  ;  many  prejudices  have  died  during  that  period 
in  this  once  puritanical  land.  The  criticisms  which  Mr.  Purdy  and  Mr.  Gard- 
ner and  the  other  riding-men  had  then  to  meet  were  merely  expressions  of 
prejudices,  honestly  formed,  but  showing  an  ignorance,  which  now,  I  think,  has 
wholly  ceased  to  exist.  Mr.  Benjamin  D.  Hicks,  a  Quaker,  a  large  land-owner, 
in  the  heart  of  the  Meadowbrook  Country,  a  man  of  strong  convictions  but 
with  consideration  to  others,  the  Vice-President  of  Mr.  Bergh's  Society,  was 
the  last  farmer  to  oppose  hunting  on  principle. 

But  hunting  is  democratic  in  its  teachings,  as  Mr.  Wadsworth  says,  and  it 
has  been  educational,  for  whereas  in  the  beginning  there  was  of  necessity  mutual 


204- 


Fox-Hunting    iS  Drag- Hunting 


ignorance  between  the  man  oi  the  town  and  the  farmer,  they  now  understand 
each  other's  aims  and  wishes  and  necessities,  and  recognize  in  each  other  the 
possession  of  intelHgence.     The    fields  for   the   first  year  were  large ;   they  fre- 


,  ( 


F.   Gray  Griswold. 


H.   W.  Smith. 


quently  numbered  from  forty  to  fifty  riders.  Houses  and  stables  long  idle  were 
rented  by  hunting-men;  prosperity  smiled  upon  the  farmer,  and  his  hay  and 
straw  found  a  home-market  and  a  ready  sale.  At  the  end  of  the  season  the 
hunt  gave  a  ball  to  the  farmers  and  their  families,  the  neighborhood  lent  en- 
couraging aid,  and  hunting  seemed  permanently  established  on  Long  Island. 

The  second  season,  however,  showed  a  reaction  from  the  energy  and  en- 
thusiasm of  the  preceding  year.  For  some  reason  the  fields  fell  off,  the  amity 
of  the  farmers  was  not  so  pronounced  ;  and,  but  for  the  persistency  of  the 
originators  of  the  hunt,  it  perhaps  would  have  died  then.  But  they  continued 
their  sport,  and  after  a  while  hunting  again  began  to  look  up.  The  hounds 
were  then  transferred  to  Central  Morrisania,  in  Westchester,  where  Mr.  Griswold 
agreed  to  hunt  them  for  a  period  not  exceeding  two  years.  The  change  resulted 
only  in  failure.  The  going  was  bad,  most  of  the  fences  stone  walls,  and  the 
ground  too  soft  in  the  spring  to  be  hunted  with  any  satisfaction.  It  was  in  no 
sense  country  suitable  to  drag-hounds,  or,  in  fact,  for  any  other  form  of  hunt- 
ing ;  and,  although  the  pack  was  moved  to  New  Rochelle,  there  was  no  addi- 
tional benefit. 


Fox-Hunting    iS   Drag-Hunting 


20  S 


On  Long  Island,  as  soon  as  the  Queens  County  hounds  had  been  with- 
drawn, the  loss  was  appreciated.  The  hunting  spirit  was  still  vigorous,  though 
in   a  measure  dormant ;   but,  at  the   end   of  two  years,  the  demand  for  another 


In  the  Meadowbrook  Country. 


hunt  club  was  too  strong  to  remain  unfruitful.  In  the  spring  of  1880  Mr. 
Purdy  resolved  to  support  a  pack  of  his  own.  He  commissioned  Mr.  J.  Burke- 
Roche  to  send  him  hounds  from  Ireland,  and  he  established  what  is  to-day  the 
Meadowbrook  Hunt.  In  this  he  was  assisted  by  Mr.  Thomas  Hitchcock,  Jr., 
who  had  just  returned  from  Oxford  ;  and  the  two  gentlemen,  acting  together, 
secured  the  support  of  the  hunting-men  of  Long  Island. 

The  pack  was  hunted  the  first  season  at  Mr.  Purdy's  own  expense.  With 
Charley  Cuilinan,  huntsman,  and  Jim  Bergen,  whip,  he  gave  satisfactory  sport, 
and  Long  Island  hunting  was  established  on  its  permanent  base.  The  following 
year  the  club  was  incorporated.  Its  chief  supporters  were  William  Jay,  August 
Belmont,  Jr.,  Winthrop  Rutherfurd,  and  the  late  William  R.  Travers.  Mr. 
Travers  became  president  ;  Francis  Appleton,  F.  O.  Beach,  Stanley  and  Richard 
Mortimer   lent   their  aid   to   the  endeavor  ;   and  Elliott  Roosevelt,  William   and 


Mrs.  C.   G.  Rice 
on  ^^  Ladylike." 


John  Sanford,  H.  L.  Herbert,  and  H.  B.  Richardson  were  of  the  number. 
About  this  time  Mr.  Griswold  had  become  the  sole  owner  of  the  Queens  County 
hounds.  He  had  finished  with  the  Westchester  country,  satisfied  that  it  lacked 
nearly  every  requirement  ;  so  that  year  he  returned  to  Long  Island.  An  ar- 
rangement was  made  between  him  and  the  Meadowbrook  Hunt  Club  to  a 
friendly  partition  of  territory. 

In  a  neighboring  section  of  the  country  there  had  been  started  a  hunt  club, 
at  Rockaway,  by  Mr.  John  Cheever.  It  became  a  regular  organization,  and 
numbered  among  its  Masters  R.  L.  La  Montague,  Farley  Clark,  J.  G.  Austin, 
F.  P.  Keene,  J.  E.  Cowdin,  and  Eben  Stevens,  and  was  hunted  for  a  time  by 
Mr.  Griswold  in  connection  with  his  territory.  The  Rockaway  Hunt  enjoyed 
many  years  of  prosperity,  but  was  eventually  driven  out  by  lack  of  sufficient 
hunting  territory. 

The  uninterrupted  success  of  Meadowbrook  soon  put  it  in  the  lead.  Mr. 
Purdy  retired  from  the  mastership  after  an  honorable  incumbency,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Mr.  F.  R.  Appleton.  After  Mr.  Appleton  came  Mr.  E.  D.  Morgan, 
and  then  R.  W.  Stuart  and  Thomas  Hitchcock,  Jr.,  became  its  Masters.  There 
was  hardly  enough  patronage  in  those  days  to  maintain  in  the  same  country  two 
established  hunt  clubs,  and  Mr.  Griswold  was  virtually  supporting  the  Queens 
County  Drag  hounds  for  the  amusement  of  himself  and  a  few  friends.  In 
1893  Mr.  Griswold  was  elected   Master  of  the  Meadowbrook  hounds,  when  he 


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C.   G.  Rice 

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turned  over  to  the  club  the  territory  of  the  Queens  County  Hunt.  Mr.  Gris- 
wold  hunted  the  hounds  two  seasons.  The  Rockaway  having  since  ceased  to 
exist,  the  Meadowbrook  is  now  the  virtual  possessor  of  all  of  Nassau  County. 

Mr.  Griswold  was  Master  and  hunted  drag-hounds  over  a  stiff  country  con- 
secutively for  nineteen  years.  True  sportsmen  are  rare  in  this  country.  We 
must  with  reluctance  admit  whether  in  yacht-racing,  hunting,  or  in  any  other 
difficult  sport,  the  men  are  soon  counted  who,  from  love  of  the  sport,  pursue  it 
for  years  in  steady  effort  at  greater  efficiency. 

In  tribute  to  Mr.  Griswold's  record  and  in  illustration  of  it,  let  me  again 
quote  from  that  same  letter  of  Brooksby  from  Meadowbrook : 

"With  the  mastership,  be  it  added,  comes  the  privilege  at  all  times  and 
under  all  circumstances  of  leading  the  field  in  pursuit  of  hounds;  methinks  were 
this  rule  enforced  in  Old  England,  many  a  change  in  mastership  would  speedily 
be  announced.  Looked  at  from  one  point  of  view  alone,  imagine  the  feelings 
of  an  M.  F.  H.  called  upon  to  live  ever  in  front  of  the  galloping  hundreds  of 
the  Quorn  or  Pytchley  ! 

"  If  you  want  another  point  of  view  you  will  find  it  in  a  glimpse  of  the 
Long  Island  timber  ;  fancy  yourself  booked  for  the  post  in  question  for  a  period 
of  years  three  times  a  week,  whatever  the  weather  and  whatever  your  mode  of 
life  or  its  temptations." 

At    Meadowbrook    the    aim    is  to  approximate,  as  nearly  as  possible,   to  a 


208 


Fox-Hunting    (S  Drag-Hunting 


steeple-chase  ;  and  while  this  is  usually  made  a  reason  of  reproach,  it  merely 
means  that  speed  is  the  chief  thing  sought,  and  is  surely  a  higher  development, 
as  witness  the  quality  of  the  horse  required  to  properly  negotiate  a  well-enclosed 
country  at  the  pace.  It  is  not  until  the  drag  becomes  really  a  fast  gallop  that 
the  quality  of  decision  in  the  rider  is  called  for  ;  for  in  the  absence  of  the  live 
quarry,  knowledge  of   any  sort,  except  of  the  horse,  as  of  the  intricacies  of  the 


Henry   W.  Bull. 


George  von  L.  Meyer. 


country,  the  habits  of  the  fox,  the  working  of  the  hounds,  is  not  required. 
These  elements  being  eliminated  from  drag-hunting,  the  line  of  hounds  being 
a  selected  "course"  (to  use  a  word  that  is  a  favorite  with  the  average  reporter), 
it  would  seem  unnecessary  to  defend  a  style  of  drag-hunting  that  cuts  out  the 
highest  possible  kind  of  work  for  horse  and  riders. 

The  Meadowbrook  hunts  at  present  generally  bring  out  Mrs.  Kernochan, 
Mrs.  Ladenburg,  Messrs.  Cottenet,  C.  A.  and  R.  L.  Stevens,  H.  S.  Page,  H. 
W.  Bull,  W.  A.  Hazard,  Maxwell  Stevenson,  W.  S.  Cameron,  J.  Clinch  Smith, 
F.  Gray  Griswold,  S.  Willets,  W.  C.  and  E.  Hayes,  H.  K.  Vingut,  and  others. 

The  sport  at  Meadowbrook  has  been  seriously  injured,  owing  to  the  impres- 
sion of  the  sport  given  to  the  parents  and  families  of  all  would-be  hunting-men 
by  the  character  of  the  reports  of  the  runs  appearing  in  the  daily  papers.  Not 
one  fall  in  ten  that  is  reported  occurs.     No  actual  fall  occurs,  however  trivial,  that 


Fox-Hunting    iS   Drag-Hunting 


2og 


is  not  reported  in  glaring  headlines  in  all  the  papers  with  every  circumstance 
of  exaggeration.  The  reporters,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  are  totally  igno- 
rant, and  have  never  even  heard  the  simplest  hunting  terms.  Their  one  and  only 
resource  is  to  seek  for  sensations,  as  they  are  incapable  of  writing  anything  else 
that  is  readable.  Sometimes  when  the  weather  has  been  such  as  to  prevent 
hunting,   and  no   hunt  actually   took   place,   columns  of  dreadful   hunting   tales 


Samuel  IV.   Hopki. 


John   Rulon   Miller. 


have  nevertheless  appeared  in  the  next  morning's  issues.  No  intelligent  man  is 
willing  to  report  hunting,  because  the  papers  really  want  the  sensations  and  not 
expert  reports.  No  accident  of  any  seriousness  whatever  occurs  without  its 
being  cabled  all  over  the  world  as  fatal.  Such  news,  for  instance,  coming  to  a 
man's  family,  who  may  be  abroad,  is  absolutely  shocking.  Meadowbrook  is  the 
target  for  all  this  and  has  suffered  much  from  it. 

In  1879  a  group  of  gentlemen  went  down  from  Boston  to  Winchester, 
where  the  Myopia  Club  was  organized  and  incorporated.  Its  original  object 
was  the  playing  of  baseball,  and  to  further  this  aim  a  club-house  was  erected. 
Eye-glasses  were  its  badges  of  distinction,  myopes  were  its  members,  and  from 
this  organization  of  defective  vision  the  club  drew  its  name.  Myopia.  After 
two  years  of  tennis  and  baseball  the  Myopias  began  to  look  farther  on.  Among 
its  members  was  Mr.  F.  H.  Prince,  who  had  followed  the  Queens  County  pack 


210 


Fox-Hunting    iS  Drag-Hunting 


during  the  summer  season  of  1881,  when  it  was  hunted  at  Newport.  Mr. 
Prince  suggested  the  formation  of  the  hunt.  The  first  efforts  to  realize  it  were 
made  by  Mr.  Hugh  A.  Allan,  William  D.  Sanborn,  and  Frank  Seabury.  Through 
Mr.  Allan's  cousin,  who  was  then  in  England,  the  hunt  obtained  its  first  draft 
of  hounds  from  the  North  Warwickshire.  Before  their  arrival,  in  1882,  the 
club  turned  out  after  a  scrub  pack,  which  came,  I  believe,  from  Canada,  and  on 

the  December  snow  had  its  first  kill.  The 
meet  was  instructive ;  it  showed  the  club  to 
have  the  true  sporting  spirit ;  and  in  the  fall, 
when  the  imported  hounds  arrived,  hunting 
began  in  earnest.  The  fields  were  fairly 
large,  hounds  killed  occasionally,  but,  as  the 
almost  inevitable  result  of  experience,  the 
hunt  moved  from  Winchester  into  a  more 
suitable  country  at  Hamilton.  This  change 
of  base  was  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Charles 
H.  Dalton,  one  of  the  moving  spirits  of  the 
new  organization.  He  had  explored  the 
Hamilton  ground,  and  his  belief  that  it  was 
a  good  hunting-country  is  verified  by  the 
fact  that  the  club  rides  there  to-day. 

In   1885  George  H.  Warren,  of  Liver- 
pool,   England,   then    living   at    Boston,  im- 
ported a  pack  of  beagles,  which  he  presented 
to  the  club  for  running  a  drag.     At  this  time 
and  until   1888    the  other  hounds  were  used 
to  fox  ;   then,  after  several  years  of  hunting,  when  the  demand   for   longer  and 
faster   runs  became  too  great  to  be  ignored,  fox-hunting  was  discarded   and   the 
hounds  trained  to  the  drag. 

Hugh  A.  Allan  was  the  first  Master  of  Myopia.  He  resigned  after  a  year 
in  office,  and  John  E.  Peabody  filled  the  vacancy  for  a  few  months.  In  the  fall 
of  1883  he  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Frank  Seabury,  who  hunted  the  hounds  until 
1893,  when  R.  M.  Appleton,  the  present  Master,  was  appointed.  Among  the 
foremost  men  in  the  history  of  Myopia  are  Hon.  George  von  L.  Meyer,  Francis 
Peabody,  Jr.,  S.  D.  Bush,  A.  P.  Gardner,  S.  A.  Hopkins,  James  Parker,  the  late 
Lucius  M.  Sargent,  and  the  late  Marshall  K.  Abbott,  for  many  years  its  keenest 
sportsmen,  straight-riding,  hospitable  hunting-men.  Mrs.  Rice,  Mrs.  Allan, 
Mrs.  Edward  Gray,  Miss  Edith  Dalton,  Mrs.  Peabody,  and  other  ladies  regularly 
follow  the  Myopia  hounds. 

The  Myopia  Club  has  been  the  stimulus  to  all  the  outdoor  sports  that  have 


Maxwell  Stevenson. 


FoX'Hunting    tS   Drag-Hunting 


211 


developed  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston.  It  has  there  developed  hunting,  polo, 
and  racing  of  the  highest  class.  Altogether  Myopia  has  had  an  interesting  life, 
and  the  memory  of  the  first  hunt  from  the  Gibney  Farm,  its  Brst  polo  on  a  half- 
rolled  pasture-land,  and  all  the  other  preliminary  attempts,  remain  to  show  how 
rapidly,  from  small  beginnings,  high-class  sport  can  be  developed  in  this  country. 
With  head-quarters  at  Dedham,  Mass.,  the  Norfolk  Hunt  was  organized  in 
1896.  The  first  Master  was  Mr.  Joseph 
Balch,  who  has  been  succeeded  by  Captain 
Samuel  Parker.  The  runs  are  held  in  the 
early  morning,  as  nearly  all  of  its  followers 
are  business  men.  Though  young,  this  is 
one  of  the  most  successful  organizations  in 
America.  It  is  probably  the  largest  field 
anywhere  seen  with  the  drag.  The  Master 
is  the  captain  of  Light  Battery  A,  and  has 
largely  recruited  from  this  crack  organiza- 
tion his  field  of  horsemen.  He  has  steadily 
improved  his  pack,  and  his  enterprise  in  find- 
ing new  country,  steadily  pushing  onward 
and  outward,  has  rapidly  developed  his  sport, 
cemented  the  enthusiasm  and  augmented  the 
numbers  of  the  Norfolk  following.  The 
head-quarters  of  the  hunt  has  lately  been  re- 
moved to  Medfield,  and  its  most  regular 
riders  are  Nason  Hamlin,  William  Amory, 
2d,  E.  W.   Grew,  F.  Peabody,  Jr.,  George 

Lewis,  Dr.  J.  W.  Elliot,  R.  B.  Baker,  Dr.  H.  L.  Morse,  C.  W.  Dabney,  Henry 
Vaughan,  Dr.  Morton  Prince,  Lindsley  Loring,  Horatio  Hathaway,  Jr.,  George 
G.  Amory,  C.  E.  Sweet,  C.  R.  Sturgis,  and  H.  W.  Smith. 

In  the  Southern  States,  as  has  been  said,  fox-hunting  has  long  been  estab- 
lished. For  generations  it  has  flourished  as  a  private  sport,  for  the  Elk  Ridge 
Club,  a  representative  organization,  was  not  fpunded  until  1878.  Long  before 
it  became  a  club,  however,  its  founders  had  hunted  both  fox  and  deer,  and  when 
the  deer  at  length  were  driven  out  of  Maryland,  it  devoted  its  talents  and  intel- 
ligence to  the  fox.  The  nucleus  of  the  Elk  Ridge  pack  was  three  couple  of 
Irish  fox-hounds,  imported  and  presented  to  the  club  by  C.  H.  Moore,  of  Vir- 
ginia. Mr.  Murray  Hanson  was  Master  when  the  hunt  first  met  at  Furnace 
Creek  in  October,  1878.  It  has  moved  in  nearer  to  Baltimore,  and  hunts  both 
wild  fox  and  drag,  and  shows  good  sport  with  both. 

The   Green   Spring  Valley   Hunt   Club    was    formally  organized   in    1892. 


^^H[  m  '"^ivm 

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L..   C.  Altemus. 


212 


Fox-Hunting    (S  Drag-Hunting 


Before  this,  for   a  period    of  six  years,  a  small  pack   had  been  hunted  by  R.  C. 
Stewart  and  VV.  P.  Stewart,  and   this  formed   the   nucleus    of   the  present   pack. 

Since  1892  the  pack  has  hunted,  at 
least  twice  a  week  in  the  season,  the 
wild  fox.  It  is  a  subscription  pack, 
having  one  hundred  and  eighty  mem- 
bers, of  which  number  about  seventy 
are  hunting-men  who  take  the  keenest 
interest  in  the  hunting.  The  fields 
vary  from  twenty  to  seventy,  with  an 
average  size  of  about  thirty  -  five. 
Though  the  country  is  blind  in  Oc- 
tober, the  season  always  commences 
on  the  first  Saturday,  and  continues, 
with  interruptions  caused  by  snow  and 
frost,  until  the  middle  of  April.  It  is 
not  a  particularly  stiff  country,  the 
most  formidable  fence  being  the  post 
and  rail.  At  times  you  get  good  grass 
galloping,  and  again  encounter  wood- 
lands so  thick  as  to  be  unridable.  On 
an  estimated  percentage  of  ninety  per 
cent,  of  hunting-days,  one  or  more  foxes  are  found,  and,  being  especially  large 
and  strong,  they  run  on  a  bad  scenting  day  often  two  hours  before  going  to 
ground.  On  good  scenting  days  an  hour  or  one  hour  and  ten  minutes  is  as  long 
as  a  fox  can  live  in  front  of  the  pack,  though  forty  minutes  is  considered  a 
good  run.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  earths,  of  which  there  are  a  great  num- 
ber, cannot  be  stopped,  a  kill  in  the  open  occurs  only  about  three  times  in  a 
season.  The  pack  is  composed  of  well-bred  native  fox-hounds  with  now  and 
then  a  cross  of  imported  blood,  and  gives  splendid  music.  The  pack  is  fast, 
though  the  qualities  which  the  hunt  are  particularly  proud  of  are  their  endur- 
ance, nose,  and  tongue. 

The  Warrenton  Hunt  Club  in  Virginia  has  been  organized  about  ten  years. 
Its  pack  consists  of  about  twelve  couples  of  chiefly  American  hounds.,  It  begins 
hunting  about  November  ist,  and  when  hard  weather  ends  the  fixed  hunting 
the  pack  is  taken  out  whenever  the  opportunity  offers.  The  Warrenton  coun- 
try is  fairly  cultivated  and  has  a  preponderance  of  snake  fences  and  posts  and 
rails.  It  is  a  rough  country,  and  of  late  a  great  deal  of  wire  has  been  strung 
over  the  best  riding  parts  of  it.  For  this  reason  it  is  really  nowadays  difficult 
to  lay  a  good  drag  anywhere  in  the  Warrenton  country,  yet  its   followers  are  as 


Frank  Seabury. 


Fox-Hunting    tS  Drag-Hunting 


213 


keen  as  ever  and  not  in  the  least  discouraged.  The  Master  is  Mr.  F.  A.  B. 
Portman,  and  the  following  gentlemen  are  the  keenest  supporters  of  the  hunt : 
John  D.  Hooe,  J.  K.  Maddux,  George 
B.  Stone,  John  S.  Gaines,  C.  W.  Smith, 
E.  Astley  Cooper,  and  E.  R.  W.  Bar- 
ker. There  are  tew  fields  turned  out 
that  do  not  include  Mrs.  F.  L.  W. 
Barker,  the  Misses  Barry,  Mrs.  F.  A. 
B.  Portman,  Mrs.  Blair  Johnson,  and 
Miss  Mary  Hicks.  There  are  numer- 
ous other  successful  hunt  clubs  in  this 
country  which  show  excellent  sport,  as 
the  Westchester,  of  which  Mr.  Reynal 
is  the  Master.  Mr.  Collier's  Mon- 
mouth County  hounds  hunt  what  is 
undoubtedly  a  fine  country  and  show 
excellent  sport. 

The  Essex  County  (N.  J.)  hounds 
have  been  hunted  from  the  early  days 
of  drag-hunting  in  this  country,  con- 
tinually, until  the  present  time,  and 
have  had  a  strong  following  of  keen 

hunting-men.  The  pack  is  now  hunted  by  Mr.  Charles  Pfizer,  Jr.,  the  last 
Master  of  the  former  organization,  as  his  private  pack.  The  following  are  the 
"  Recognized  Hunts  "  and  their  Masters  or  Acting  Masters  : 

Address.  Masters  or  Acting  Masters. 

Aiken,  S.  C.  Thomas  Hitchcock,  Jr. 

Ballston,  N.  Y.  E.  L.  Smith. 

Washington,  D.  C.,and  Chevy  Chase,  Md.    Clarence  Moore. 
Richmond,  Va. 
Baltimore,  Md. 
Geneseo,  N.  Y. 
Baltimore,  Md. 
Keswick,  Va. 
Lima,  Pa. 

Westbury,  Long  Island,  N.  Y. 
Hamilton,  Mass. 
Dedham,  Mass. 
Towsan,  Md. 

Patapsco,  Howard  County,  Md. 
Piedmont,  Va. 
Linden,  Va. 
Media,  Pa. 
Radnor,  Pa. 

Richfield  Springs,  N.  Y. 
Warrenton,  Va. 
National  Stock-Yards,  Illinois. 


Mrs.  R.   G.  S/iaiv,  2d. 


Name. 
Aiken  Hunt. 
Ballston  Hunt. 
Chew  Chase  Hunt. 
Deep  Run  Hunt. 
Elk  Ridge  Hunt. 
Genesee  Valley  Hunt. 
Green  Spring  Valley  Hunt 
Keswick  Hunt. 
Lima  Hunt. 
Meadowbrook  Hunt. 
Myopia  Hunt. 
Norfolk  Hunt. 
Overland  Hunt. 
Patapsco  Hunt. 
Piedmont  Hunt. 
Pine  Hill  Valley  Hunt. 
Rose  Tree  Hunt. 
Radnor  Hunt. 
Waiontha  Hunt. 
Warrenton  Hunt. 
Woodbine  Hunt. 


H.  C.  Beattie. 

E.  A.  Jackson. 

W.  A.  Wadsworth. 
R.  C.  Stewart. 
C.  R.  Randolph. 
C.  A.  Dohan. 
R.  N.  Ellis. 
R.  M.  Appleton. 
S.  D.  Parker. 

C.  C.  West. 

D.  M.  Williams. 
R.  H.  Dulaney. 
J.  D.  Hall,  Jr. 
W.  H.  Corlies. 
C.  E.  Mather. 

J.  Lee   Taylor. 

F.  A.  B.  Portman. 
John  S.  Bratton. 


214 


Fox-Hunting    iS  Drag-Hunting 


Hunting  is  more  popular  to-day  and  has  more  followers  in  this  country 
than  ever  before.  There  was  the  other  day,  for  instance,  a  field  of  ninety  out 
with  Mr.  Wadsworth's  hounds.  A  good  hunter  has  now  a  definite  and  market- 
able value,  as  he  has  never  had  before  in   this  country.      The  only  real  enemy 

to  hunting  is  wire,  which,  I  fear,  is  steadily 
spreading  over  most  of  the  best  hunting  dis- 
tricts, but  this  is  as  true  of  England  as  of 
America.  Fortunately  the  Meadowbrook  Coun- 
try is  an  exception  to  this  practice.  About  ten 
years  ago  the  farmers  there  began  to  use  wire 
strung  over  the  tops  of  their  old  fences,  with, 
however,  only  an  occasional  all  -  wire  fence. 
Now  the  new  fences  are  all  posts  and  rails,  in- 
tended to  confine  horses  boarded  from  the  city, 
and  the  patchwork  wire  is  disappearing  as  the 
new  fences  are  built. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  at  Geneseo 
there  are  only  about  six  weeks  of  good  hunting, 
that  Myopia,  Norfolk,  Geneseo,  and  all  other 
hunts  north  of  Philadelphia  have  no  winter  or 
spring  hunting,  that  at  Meadowbrook  we  have 
three  months  of  frost,  when  riding  to  hounds  is 
impossible — in  view  of  this,  the  enthusiasm  of 
Americans  for  hunting  must  not  be  underesti- 
mated. At  Meadowbrook  we  have  six  weeks 
of  spring  hunting  (March  i  oth  to  about  April 
2oth)  that  is  as  good  as  any  in  the  year,  but 
with  all  of  us  there  are  those  winter  months 
when  we  wish  to  hunt  and  cannot.  Many 
Americans  therefore  hunt  in  England.  In  ad- 
dition to  this  reason — the  limitation  of  our  sea- 
son by  hopeless  frosts — the  hunting  of  our  Eng- 
lish cousins,  the  originators  and  progenitors  of 
the  great  sport,  has  an  immense  charm  in  the 
beauty  of  their  old-time  country-side.  There  is  nothing  in  the  world  to  equal 
rural  England — its  well-worn  places,  its  comfort  and  beauty.  An  English  meet 
of  fox-hounds  must,  therefore,  appeal  to  every  Anglo-Saxon  ;  but  though  we 
have  not  the  same  setting  to  the  scene,  our  country  has  a  wilder  beauty,  and  I 
am  confident  that,  could  we  combine  fox-hunting  and  riding  to  hounds,  and 
find  a  country  where  the  sport  oo-uld  be  continued  through   the  winter  months. 


Mrs.  E.  A.   Jackson. 


Fox-Hunting    tS  Drag-Hunting 


215 


it   would  attract  as  many   hunting-men  as  now  go  to  Melton  or  any  other  place 
in  England. 

Mr.  Harry  W.  Smith,  of  Worcester,  has  proposed  the  formation  of  a  Na- 
tional Hunt  to  cover  this  need,  with  its  location  at  Upperville,  Va.,  as  Piedmont 
County,  in  his  opinion,  fulfils  all  the  requirements.  Every  hunting-man  in 
New  York,  Boston,  and  Geneseo,  I  am  sure,  will  join  in  support  of  such  an 
organization,  if  only  the  country  and  the  climate  are  what  is  required.  I  sin- 
cerely hope  that  this  National  Hunt  will  be  organized  and  meet  with  success, 
and  that  everyone  who  reads  this,  and  all  hunting-men,  will  meet  thus  together 
every  year  to  follow  the  Sport  of  Kings. 


Mrs.  Ladenberg. 


COACHING 


OLIVER  H.  P.  BELMONT 


"THE  ROAD," 

Coupled  with   the   Name   of   Mr.   William   Whiffle-tree. 

/  tlur/ik  you  hndl)\  gentlemen, — not  for  your  ruby  zv/ne. 
But  for  the  toast  I  love  the  most  you  cou pie  thus  with  mine  ; 
For  I  am  IFilliam  IVhiffle-tree  luho  tooled  the  T^ally-Ho, 
While  Mrs.    Coachman  kept  "  '■fhe  Sican,"  so  many  years  ago. 
I^he  start  was  out  of  Langton,  sirs,  and  Barton  was  the  road. 
No  king  was  prouder  of  his  crown  than  irniiam  of  his  load — 
ISlor  ever  danced  a  maiden  to  the  altar  in  a  dream. 
As  gay  as  he  to  take  tlie  lines  and  chirrup  to  the  teitm. 
'.  IVith  his 

Chorus — 

Off-side!  Near-side!   "Tally,   Tally-Ho ! 
See  the  windows  open  'when  the  horn  begins  to  blow ! 
Bed  them  with  the  babes  and  feed  them  zcith  the  dawn, 
And  the  Shooter's  but  a  lobster  if  he  Ciinnot  blo-w  the  horn. 

IVhen  we  passed  through  the  village,  why  the  matrons  they  'would  smile; 

And  the  maidens  they  would  linger  in  the  road  a  little  while  ; 

And  the  parson  set  the  clock  and  the  bar-maid  sought  the  till 

IV hen  thev  saw  the  Tally-Ho  a-come  a-thundering  down  the  hill. 

IVlien  we  passed  by  the  church,  why  the  people  dozen  below, 

I  really  think  they  listened  for  to  hear  the  Tally-Ho, — 

intli  a  "  Buy  a,  buy  a  Broom  !  " — "  Ah,  bless  you,  there  she  goes !  " 

And  they  turned  their  heads  azcav  again  to  take  another  doze. 

Old  men  upon  the  porch,  rose  to  hail  jjs  with  a  cheer  ; 

And  the  farmer  stopped  his  furrow  when  he  sazu  us  drawing  near ; 

And  the  children  at  the  school  sprang  to  reach  the  willing  door 

And  tumbled  out  with  ringing  shout  to  greet  the  Coach  and  Four. 

And  zuhen  the  day  had  left  us,   underneath  the  early,  stars 

0,  joyous  zvas  the  horn  and  the  music  of  the  bars 

As  zve  rattled  in  at  night  through  the  streets  of  Barton  town 

To  the  "  Lion  and  the  Garter  "  where  the  Tally-Ho  set  dozen  ! 

And  then  to  hand  the  mail:  that  was  Tom's,  by  Shooter's  right — 
And  for  me  to  tend  the  team  and  see  them  bedded  for  the  night  ; 
Then  for  all  to  drain  the  bumper  by  the  fire's  ruddy  blaze. 
And  tell  the  tales  of  Coaching  in  the  ^'- Light  of  Other  Days." 

{From  "  The  Light  of  Other  Days,"  by  S.  Nicholson  Katie.) 


COACHING 

BY    OLIVER    H,    P.    BELMONT 


O  sport  which  requires  the  perfection  of  skill  and  dash  and  the  ex- 
ercise of  nerve  will  ever  be  abandoned  by  Americans.  Coaching 
may  languish  here  for  a  period  as  it  did  in  England.  It  may  be- 
come almost  a  memory,  but  ultimately  it  will  emerge  from  the  ob- 
scurity into  which  it  may  seem  to  have  fallen.  Your  true  sports- 
man will  again  be  found  on  the  box,  the  spirit  of  emulation  will 
be  awakened,  and  the  sport  that  "  compels  a  knowledge  ot  the  very  highest 
branches  of  the  art  of  horsemanship  and  equipage  "  will  be  revived  in  all  its 
old-time  glory.  It  was  so  in  England  when  tor  forty  years  after  the  appearance 
of  the  locomotive  it  was  practically  dead.  The  driving  of  a  four-in-hand  after 
that  event  became  almost  a  lost  art.  Indeed  for  two  years,  in  the  early  fifties. 
Great  Britain  could  boast  of  only  a  single  coachman.  Sir  Henry  Peyton,  whose 
grays  and  yellow  coach  were  one  of  the  sights  of  London. 

For  half  a  century  before  rails  were  laid  for  the  locomotive,  coaching  was  a 
business  that  had  been  highly  developed  by  the  Government  for  the  transmission 
of  the  mails.  The  break-neck  speed  of  the  Royal  Mail  suggested  all  the  ele- 
ments of  danger  and  the  greatest  possible  skill  on  the  box.  Accidents  were  not 
so  uncommon  as  not  to  call  forth  the  indignant  protests  of  the  publications  of 
that  day,  much  the  same  as  we  read  to-day  of  too  frequent  railroad  accidents. 
The  country  gentleman  and  the  nobility  were  attracted  to  it.  As  amateurs,  we 
read,  they  courted  the  professionals  on  the  box  and  acquired  a  "  practical  appre- 
ciation of  the  niceties  of  the  art  of  driving."  Through  their  inspiration  coach- 
ing became  one  of  the  conspicuous  recreative  sports  of  that  day,  and  many 
skilful  amateurs  are  remembered  for  their  participation  in  it.  The  blending 
of  the  characteristics  of  the  skilled  coachman  and  the  polite  gentleman  was 
complete.  The  polished  Athenians  considered  it  an  honor  to  be  the  most  skil- 
ful charioteers  of  the  world.  The  English  gentleman  deemed  the  skilful 
driving  of  a  four-in-hand  an  accomplishment  that  might  well  be  envied  by  a 
prince. 

As  with  every  undertaking  requiring  a  high  degree  of  excellence,  the  pres- 
ence or  absence  of  enthusiasm  determines  its  success  or  failure.  Its  presence  is 
a  powerful  stimulant  to  the  perfection  of  success.  One  cannot  read  the  inspir- 
iting description  of  a  "  start,"  by  Captain  Malet,  without  realizing  and  appre- 
ciating the  zest  of  which  the  true  sportsman  of  those  early  days  was  possessed  : 
"  A  bright  morning  towards  the  end  of  May,  a   coach,  primrose  color  ;   a 


220 


Coaching 


team  of  two  powerful  bay  wheelers  and  blood  grays  at  lead,  all  with  plenty  in 
front  of  the  collar,  and  bone  to  support  them  ;  the  whole  turn-out  having  a  lot 
of  sort  about   it ;   thoroughly  bang-up  in   fact.      Throw  your  fastidious  eye  over 

the  horses,  leathers,  and  coach,  and  all  you 
can  say  is  capital!  With  truth  you  can 
also  say  : 

"  Here's  to  the  shape  that  is  shown  on  the  near 
side, 
Here's  to  the  blood  on  the  off,  sir ; 
Limbs  with  no  check  to  the  freedom  of  stride. 
Wind  without  whistle  or  cough,  sir. 

"  A  '  full  way  bill,'  '  time  up '  from 
the  guard,  '  all  right '  from  coachee  to 
the  horse-keepers,  the  horse-cloths  being 
rolled  off  at  the  signal,  the  traces  tight- 
ened, as  with  one  move,  bringing  the 
swingle-bars  up  with  a  jerk,  pole  chains 
rattle  to  each  step,  and  then,  '  with  elbows 
squared  and  with  wrists  turned  down,  he 
sends  his  tits  along.'  The  '  three  feet  of 
tin  '  sounds  its  seven  notes  musically,  and 
with  '  all  quality,  pride,  pomp,  and  cir- 
cumstance of  glorious  roads,'  away  we  go 
rumbling  over  the  London  stones  for  our 
first  stage  out." 

The  driving  of  four  horses  has  well 
been  styled  an  art  in  which  to  be  wholly 
successful  one  must  have  taken  his  degree. 
Circuiting  the  Olympic  Hippodrome  by 
the  charioteers,  feather-edging  pillars,  and  picking  a  course  amid  the  thunder 
and  rumble  and  rattle  of  horses  and  chariots  and  wheels,  has  always  been  rec- 
ognized as  an  exhibition  of  the  best  disciplined  nerve  possible  for  the  human 
frame  to  possess  : 

"  To  drive  the  chariot,  and  with  steady  skill 
To  turn,  and  yet  not  break  the  bending  wheel, 
Amphitrion  kindly  did  instruct  his  son. 
Great  in  the  art ; — for  he  himself  had  won 
Vast  precious  prizes  on  the  Argive  plains. 
And  sdll  the  chariot  which  he  drove  remains 
Ne'er  hurt  in  the  course,  tho'  dme  has  broke  the  falling  reins." 


Edward  Morrell. 


Coaching 


221 


Those  who  have  digged  industriously  and  deeply  into  the  subject  are  satis- 
fied that  the  genesis  of  the  modern  coach  is  found  in  the  early  chariot,  in  use 
in  Britain  in  the  days  of  Cssar,  one  of  which  Cicero  asked  a  friend  to  bring 
him  for  "a  pattern."  The  "  whirlocote  " 
was  the  name  given  to  the  wheeled  car- 
riages that  first  came  into  use  in  England 
in  1388,  during  the  reign  of  Richard  II. 
They  were  nothing  more  than  tour  rough 
boards  clumsily  fastened  upon  wheels. 
Queen  Elizabeth  set  the  fashion  that  at 
once  became  popular  of  riding  in  her  own 
coach.  But  so  many  persons  took  to 
wheels  that  in  January,  1636,  Charles  I. 
issued  a  proclamation  "  for  restraint  of  the 
multitude  and  promiscuous  use  oi  coaches 
about  London  and  Westminster."  The 
streets  appear  to  have  been  literally 
jammed  with  this  class  of  vehicles.  In 
1662  a  John  Crossel  wrote  a  pamphlet 
demanding  the  suppression  of  this  form  of 
conveyance  on  the  ground  that  it  would 
inflict  an  injury  upon  society.  The  coach- 
es, he  insisted,  "  make  gentlemen  come  to 
London  upon  very  small  occasion,  which 
otherwise  they  would  not  do  but  upon 
very  urgent  necessity ;  nay,  the  conveni- 
ency  of  the  passage  makes  their  wives  of- 
ten come  up,  who  rather  than  come  such 
long  journeys  on  horseback  would  stay  at 

home.  Here,  when  they  come  to  town,  they  must  ^o  in  the  mode,  get  fine 
clothes,  go  to  plays  and  treats,  and  by  these  means  get  such  a  habit  of  idleness 
and  love  of  pleasure  that  they  are  uneasy  ever  after." 

Between  1662  and  1703  stage-coaching  became  general  in  England.  It 
did  not  come  in  without  ridicule  and  condemnation  from  those  who  had  always 
travelled  on  horseback.  It  was  contended  that  the  patrons  of  the  coach  con- 
tracted "  an  idle  habit  of  body,  became  weary  and  listless  when  they  have  rode 
a  few  miles,  and  are  then  unable  to  travel  on  horseback,  to  endure  frost,  snow, 
or  rain,  or  to  lodge  in  the  fields."  The  roads  of  those  early  times  are  described 
as  "infernal"  and  "infamously  bad."  One  of  the  primitive  English  coaches 
was  presented  to  the  Emperor  of  China,  who,  after  some  study,  decided  that  the 


George  P.  Wetmore. 


222 


Coaching 


place  for  him  was  on  the  box,  because  it  was  nearest  to  the  moon.  So  the 
driver  was  tucked  away  on  the  inside  of  the  coach  and  the  reins  were  given  him 
through  the  window. 

The  post-boy  who  carried   the  early  English  mails  was  not  always  reliable 
or  honest,  and  live  miles  an  hour,  on  the  back  of  a  hack,  was  considered  by  him 


F.  K.  Sturgis. 


F.   T.    Underhill. 


a  full  equivalent  of  speed.  The  mail-coach  superseded  him,  with  its  armed 
guards,  but  this  evidence  of  progress  was  not  wholly  appreciated  even  by  govern- 
mental officers,  for  it  encountered  much  opposition  before  it  became  firmly 
established.  Contemporaneously  with  the  development  of  the  mail-coach  was 
the  improved  methods  of  road-making  introduced  by  Macadam. 

The  responsibilities  of  the  early  guards,  we  are  told,  were  many  and  heavy. 
They  were  armed  with  blunderbusses  and  braces  of  pistols.  They  were  obliged 
to  serve  some  time  in  the  mail-coach  factory  and  learn  to  make  repairs  quickly. 
The  coachman  took  his  orders  from  the  guard,  and  the  latter  carried  the  royal 
time-piece  furnished  by  the  Government  and  wore  the  royal  livery.  Guards 
were  expected  to  report  faulty  roads,  and  they  were  privileged  to  hale  before  the 
magistrates  such  road  commissioners  as  they  decided  to  be  neglectful.  The  horns 
of  the  post-boys  were  adopted  by  the  guards  and  were  made  of  tin  three  feet  long. 

The  mail-coach  was  doomed  when  Stevenson's  invention  demonstrated   its 


Oliver  H.  P.  Belmont. 


Coaching 


225 


value  as  a  means  of  travel  and  transportation.  In  the  year  1836  there  were  50 
four-horse  mails  on  the  roads  in  England,  30  in  Ireland,  and  10  in  Scotland,  and 
in  the  last  year  of  mail-coaches  27  in  number  left  London  every  night  at  eight 
o'clock,  travelling  about  5,500  miles  all  told  in  reaching  their  destinations.  The 
great  coaching-parade  day  was  the   king's   birthday,  when   all   the  mail-coaches 


Reginald  W.   Rives. 


Colonel  William   Jay. 


paraded  past  him,  the  men  in  the  newest  of  livery,  the  coaches  in  their  most 
gorgeous  colors,  guard  and  coachman  standing  up  and  removing  their  hats  as  the 
proper  salutation  to  their  king.  One  of  the  famous  coaches  of  that  day  was 
the  "Shrewsbury  Wonder,"  whose  performances  were  sources  of  pride  and 
delight.  It  left  at  4.45  in  the  morning  and  reached  London  at  9.45  at  night, 
stopping  twice  for  refreshments  and  covering  a  distance  of  154  miles  in  one  day  ! 
The  characteristics  of  the  early  professionals  who  set  the  pace  so  eagerly 
followed  by  observing  amateurs  were  considered  sufficiently  impressive  to  receive 
recognition  in  type.  Such  a  professional  was  Cartwright,  who  drove  the  York 
Express  from  Buckden  to  Welwyn  and  back  every  day,  about  seventy  miles,  for 
many  years  :  "  Under  fifty  years  of  age,  bony,  without  fat,  healthy  looking,  evi- 
dently the  effect  of  abstemiousness  ;  not  too  tall,  but  just  the  size  to  sit  gracefully 
and  powerfully,  as  well  as  to  render  his  getting  up  and  down  easy.  The  moment 
he  has  got  his  seat  and   made  his  start  you  are  struck  at  once  with   the  perfect 


226 


Coaching 


mastership  oi  his  art;  the  hand  just  over  his  left  thigh,  the  arm  without 
constraint,  steady,  and  with  a  holding  command  that  keeps  his  horses  like  clock- 
work, yet  to  a  superficial  observer  quite  with  loose  reins.  So  firm  and  compact 
is  he  that   you  seldom   observe  any  shifting,  only,  I  may  say,  to   take   a   shorter 

purchase  tor  a  run  down  hill,  which  he 
accomplishes  with  greater  confidence 
and  skill  than  any  man  I  ever  saw,  un- 
tinctured  with  imprudence. 

"  His  right  hand  and  whip  are 
beautifully  in  unison  ;  the  cross,  if  not 
in  direct  line  with  the  box,  over  the 
near  wheel,  raised  gracefully  up,  ready, 
as  it  were,  to  reward  the  near -side 
horse ;  the  thong,  after  three  twists 
(just  enough  suspended  for  the  neces- 
sary purpose),  which  appear  in  his  hand 
to  have  been  placed  by  the  maker, 
never  to  be  altered  or  improved  ;  and 
if  the  off'-side  horse  becomes  slack,  to 
see  the  turn  of  his  arm  to  reduce  a 
twist,  or  to  reverse  it,  if  necessary,  is 
exquisite,  and  after  being  placed  under 
the  rib,  or  upon  the  shoulder-point,  up 
comes  the  arm,  and  with  it  the  thong 
returns  to  the  elegant  position  upon  the 
cross.  I  say  elegant — the  stick  highly  polished  yew,  rather  light,  not  too  taper, 
yet  elastic,  a  thong  in  clean  order,  pliable — with  this  man  it  is  elegance,  the 
direction  of  the  thong  over  the  cross  without  effort,  simply  a  turn  of  the  wrist. 
(Mem. — The  length  of  whip  should  be  5  feet  i  ><  inches  from  the  butt  to  the 
holder,  and  i  2  feet  5  inches  or  6  inches  from  the  holder  to  the  end  of  your  point.) 
"  This  improvement  in  the  management  of  the  whip  is  not  of  many  years' 
birth.  I  remember  when  it  was  not  known  as  a  luxury  in  driving  ;  even  now 
it  belongs  to  a  rare  few  to  execute  the  accomplishment  effectively  and  with 
grace.  Some  men,  aware  of  the  facility  it  gives  to  punishment,  will  hold  the 
cross  over  the  off-wheel  perpendicularly  and  twist  away  till  the  desideratum  is 
obtained,  and  then  the  ears  and  haunches  well  scored  are  the  result.  Cart- 
wright's  manner  of  treating  the  leaders  is  equally  fine.  His  team  are  too  good 
ever  to  require  severity,  therefore  you  cannot  get  to  see  a  specimen  of  the  differ- 
ent strokes  right  and  left.  However,  to  see  my  friend  use  a  backhanded  draw 
over  the  leaders'  heads  is  worth   riding   many  hours  in  a  wet  day,  which   I   did. 


"James  V.   Parker. 


Coaching 


22y 


Even  this  esprit  de  rhominc  is  rare,  tor  his  system  is  stillness  and  to  drive  without 
using  the  whip.  The  tits  are  fair,  not  tirst-rate  ;  but  the  steadiness  and  light- 
ness of  his  hand,  cool  temper,  perfect  acquaintance  with  pace,  and  knowledge 
where  the  best  play  is  to  be  made,  render  his  task  more  than  easy,  quite  a  pleas- 
ure, and  he  performs  his  distance  always 
to  a  minute,  load  or  no  load.  He  is  no 
dandy,  but  is  equipped  most  respectfully 
and  modestly,  with  good  taste."  Such 
is  the  language  of  an  enthusiastic  coach- 
man of  the  old  school,  no  mean  coach- 
man himself,  it  will  readily  be  granted. 
One  dislikes  to  dismiss  this  mighty 
personage  of  the  olden  time  without 
recalling  the  amused  attention  bestowed 
upon  him  by  Washington  Irving  in  his 
"  Sketch  Book."  Geoffrey  Crayon  was 
his  name,  and  he  had  "  a  dress,  a  man- 
ner, a  language,  an  air  peculiar  to  him- 
self. Wherever  an  English  stage-coach- 
man may  be  seen  he  cannot  be  mistaken 
for  one  of  any  other  craft  or  mystery. 
He  has  commonly  a  broad,  full  face,  cu- 
riously mottled  with  red,  as  if  the  blood 
had  been  forced  by  hard  feeding  into  ev- 
ery vessel  of  the  skin  ;  he  is  swelled  into 

jolly  dimensions  by  frequent  potations  ol  malt  liquor,  and  his  bulk  is  still  fur- 
ther increased  by  a  multiplicity  of  coats  in  which  he  is  buried  like  a  cauliflower, 
the  upper  one  reaching  to  his  heels.  He  wears  a  broad-brimmed,  low-crowned 
hat,  a  huge  roll  of  colored  handkerchief  about  his  neck,  knowingly  knotted 
and  tucked  in  at  the  bosom,  and  has  in  summer-time  a  large  bouquet  of  flowers 
in  his  button-hole,  the  present  probably  of  some  enamored  country  lass.  His 
waistcoat  is  commonly  of  some  bright  color  striped,  and  his  small-clothes  extend 
far  below  the  knees  to  meet  a  pair  of  jockey  boots,  which  reach  about  half  way 
up  his  legs.  .  .  .  He  enjoys  great  consequence  and  consideration  along  the 
road,  has  frequent  conferences  with  the  village  housewives,  who  look  upon  him 
as  a  man  of  great  trust  and  dependence,  and  he  seems  to  have  a  good  under- 
standing with  every  bright-eyed  country  lass.  The  moment  he  arrives  where 
the  horses  are  to  be  changed  he  throws  down  the  reins  with  something  of  an 
air,  and  abandons  the  cattle  to  the  care  of  the  hostler,  his  duty  being  merely  to 
drive  from  one  stage  to  another.      When  off  the  box  his  hands  are  thrust  in  the 


Theodore  A.   Havemeyer,  Sr. 


228 


Coaching 


pockets  of  his  greatcoat,  and  he  rolls  about  the  inn-yard  with  an  air  of  the  most 
absolute  lordliness.  Here  he  is  generally  surrounded  with  an  admiring  throng 
of  hostlers,  stable-boys,  shoeblacks,  and  those  nameless  loungers-on  that  infest 
inns  and  taverns.  .  .  .  These  all  look  up  to  him  as  an  oracle,  treasure  up 
his  cant  phrases,  echo  his  opinions  about  horses  and  other  topics  of  jockey  lore, 
and,  above  all,  endeavor  to  imitate  his  air  and  carriage.  Every  ragamuffin  that 
has  a  coat  to  his  back  thrusts  his   hands   in    the  pockets,  rolls  in   his  gait,  talks 


slang,  and  is  an 
The  picture  is  not 
serving  sportsman  of 
of  the  prototype  are 

The  gentleman 
own  amusing  expe- 
days.  The  story  is 
calling  one  of  them 
nocent  of  the  fact 
estate  and  rent-rolls, 
half-  crown,  said  : 
give  you  this  at  the 
but  it  must  be  upon 
not  see  you  enter 
house,  for  I  think 
been  into  enough 
r  e  f  r  e  s  h  m  e  n  t  you 

The    Brighton 


Barclay  H.  JVarburton. 


embryo  coachey." 
lost  upon  the  ob- 
to-day.  The  marks 
not  wholly  obsolete, 
coachman  had  his 
riences  in  those 
told  of  an  old  lady 
to  the  window,  in- 
that  he  had  his  own 
and,  holding  up  a 
"  Now,  I  intend  to 
end  of  the  journey, 
condition  that  I  do 
another  public- 
y  o  u  have  already 
of  them  tor  any 
ought  to  require." 
Road  was  ever   the 


most  perfect  and  the  most  fashionable  of  all  coaching  roads  in  England.  In 
1828,  when  the  enjoyment  of  coaching  was  at  its  height,  two  dozen  coaches, 
including  the  mail,  travelled  daily  between  Brighton  and  the  metropolis.  The 
English  public  watched  as  impatiently  for  the  appearance  of  the  Magnet,  the 
Dart,  the  Comet,  the  Sovereign  as  we  have  ever  waited  for  the  arrival  ot  the 
trans-Atlantic  liner.  After  Mr.  Clarke  took  the  Age  off  the  road  in  1862 
coaching  practically  became  extinct  in  England.  For  three  full  seasons  coach- 
ing scenes  on  that  famous  highway  were  altogether  unknown.  Its  friends,  how- 
ever, undertook  to  revive  the  sport  in  1866,  but  the  attempt  was  a  pecuniary 
failure.  Three  years  later  a  party  of  enterprising  gentlemen  forced  somuch  ener- 
gy into  the  pastime  that  it  again  became  the  thing  to  ride  the  Brighton  Road,  and 
passengers  had  to  be  turned  away.  The  sport  languished  for  a  few  years  until, 
in  1874,  the  Duke  of  Beaufort  took  the  road  at  the  head  of  the  Road  Club,  and 
fashionable  life  was  again  attracted  to  its  charms  and  pleasures,  and  distinguished 
members  of  the  nobility  worked  their  coaches  regularly  during  the  season. 


Coaching 


22g 


The  transition  from  the  business  of  coaching  to  coaching  as  a  recreation 
was  easy  and  natural.  The  driving  of  a  four-in-hand  was  "  a  science  not  easily 
obtained  by  amateurs,  the  science  consisting  in  apportioning  the  labor  and 
shifting  the  load,  so  as  to  keep  the  stock  above  their  work,  and  not,  as  many 
amateurs  suppose,   in   neatly  taking   a   ily   off  the   leader's  ear."      Perfection   of 


The   Club-house  at   Jerome  Park. 

execution  in  details  stamps  the  coachman  as  an  expert.  Imagine  your  coach  at 
the  door  and  everything  ready  for  the  start.  Before  mounting  the  box  make 
your  own  personal  inspection  of  coach,  horses,  and  harness.  Run  your  eye 
critically  over  the  coach,  beginning  on  the  off  side  and  so  on  around  behind  it 
and  past  the  near  wheeler  and  leader,  pausing  an  instant  at  the  front  for  a  glance 
through  the  line,  and  coming  to  a  halt  abreast  the  off  wheeler.  Bits,  buckles, 
coupling-reins,  draught-reins  will  all  naturally  catch  your  eye.  The  reins  have 
been  looped  above  the  big  buckle  of  the  pad  of  the  off  wheeler.  In  removing 
them  draw  taut,  with  the  left  hand,  the  near  lead-rein,  and  dropping  that  hand 
straight  down  to  the  side  repeat  with  the  right  hand  the  same  process  with   the 


230 


Coaching 


off  lead-rein.  These  two  tightened  lead-reins  are  brought  together  in  the  left 
hand,  each  with  an  equal  amount  of  slack,  thus  providing  for  the  same  length 
of  both  reins  when  you  get  on  the  box.  Both  reins  are  then  passed  to  the  right 
hand,  and  exactly  the  same   operation   is  undergone  with  the  wheel-reins.      All 


../ 


W.   Seward  Webb. 


W.    Watts   Sherman. 


four  reins  now  being  collected  in  the  right  hand — /.('.,  the  near  lead-rein  sup- 
ported by  the  forefinger,  the  off  lead-rein  and  the  near  wheel-rein  between  the 
forefinger  and  the  second  finger  (the  wheel-rein  beneath  the  lead-rein),  and  the 
off  wheel-rein  between  the  second  and  third  fingers — you  are  ready  to  mount, 
being  careful,  if  there  is  any  unusual  length  to  the  reins,  to  throw  their  ends 
over  your  right  arm,  to  avoid  catching  as  you  mount.  Meanwhile  you  have 
grasped  in  your  right  the  whip  which  has  been  lying  across  the  wheelers'  backs. 
Placing  the  left  foot  on  the  hub  of  the  ofi^  front  wheel,  your  left  hand,  which 
is  perfectly  free,  will  assist  you  as  you  raise  the  right  foot  to  the  roller-bolt ; 
then  the  left  foot  rises  to  the  step,  the  right  naturally  comes  to  the,  foot-board, 
and  you  are  on  the  box.  Seat  yourself  immediately  and,  having  passed  the  reins 
to  the  left  hand,  adjust  them  to  the  same  position  which  they  occupied  in  the 
right.  There  they  are  held,  never  being  touched  by  the  right  hand  except  a 
sudden  change  of  position  becomes  necessary.  The  left  hand  does  the  driving. 
The  horses  meanwhile  have  been  positioned  by  the  groom  at  their  heads  so 


/'     I 


3" 


bo 


PF.  L.  Eikms,  Jr. 


C.  Davis  English. 


Edward  Browning. 


E.  B.  Smith. 


Coaching 


233 


that  the  traces  are  tightened,  thus  serving  to  assist  in  adjusting  the  reins  to  their 
proper  length.  Pass  the  whip  from  the  right  hand  to  the  left  and  throw  off 
the  brake.  The  groom  at  the  heads  of  the  leaders  is  facing  you,  and  the  head- 
man at  the  off  wheeler's  head  is  attention,  waiting  your  nod.      Groom  and  head- 


'^iPft 


James  J.   Van  Alen. 


IV.  K.   Vaytderhilt. 


man  step  aside  the  instant  the  signal  is  given  and  are  in  readiness  to  mount  to 
their  places  at  the  back  of  the  coach  as  it  passes  them.  A  short,  sharp  "  Right  !  " 
or  whatever  ejaculation  to  which  you  may  be  accustomed  tor  a  signal,  and  if 
your  horses  have  learned  to  work  together,  you  have  made  a  fine  start  and  are 
off.  Many  other  necessary  details  are  admirably  set  out  by  Mr.  Fairman  Rogers 
in  his  "  Manual  of  Coaching."  The  true  coachman  instinctively  grasps  them 
and  unconsciously  exhibits  his  mastery  of  the  art  by  his  observance  ot  them. 
For  many  useful  hints,  quite  as  valuable  as  when  they  were  written,  104  years 
ago,  reference  may  be  had  by  the  coachman  of  to-day  to  Felton  on  "  Car- 
riages," it  having  been  well  maintained  that  "  nothing  is  more  essential  for 
gentlemen  who  keep  a  carriage  to  know  than  the  various  principles  on  which 
they  may  be  built  to  suit  their  convenience." 

The  slightly  undulating  road  is  considered  the  best  for  coaching,  because 
the  alternate  up  and  down  gives  the  horses  opportunity  to  rest  their  lungs  from 
the  strain  of  the  uphill  work.      A  piece  of  road  between   Reigate  and  Crawley 


234- 


Coaching 


was  long  considered  a  model  for  coaching  purposes.  It  was  of  granite  mac- 
adam, slightly  undulating  and  with  medium  crown.  Over  this  Mr.  W.  G.  Tif- 
fany easily  made  the  distance  (nine  and  one-half  miles)  at  the  rate  ot  a  mile  in 
three  minutes  when  he  horsed  and  owned  the  Brighton  coach  in  1873. 

Your  skilful  driver  utilizes  every  point  on  a  roadway  that  can  be  construed 
as   favorable.      He  will    not   run    his   horses   up   long  hills,  nor  lash  them   over 

sandy  stretches,  for  these  last,  possessing  no 
spring  whatever,  are  distressing  stretches  tor 
horses  too  rapidly  driven.  Wherever  the  road 
falls  away,  advantage  can  be  taken  of  it  at  a 
gallop,  and  there  need  be  no  hesitation  in  get- 
ting all  the  movement  possible  on  the  down 
drive  on  the  ordinary  hill.  Then  the  coach 
can  practically  be  left  to  itself,  one's  chief 
effort  being  to  keep  his  horses  well  enough 
ahead  so  they  will  neither  be  run  over  nor  tug 
at  their  pole-chains.  Up  a  hill,  on  the  other 
hand,  too  tight  a  rein  ought  not  to  be  held. 

To  rival  and  wherever  possible  to  eclipse 
the  records  of  the  Royal  Mail,  under  circum- 
stances as  similar  as  can  be  conceived,  with 
their  relays  and  delays,  has  always  been  the 
ambition  of  the  genuine  coachman.  Such  an 
attempt  was  made  in  July,  1892,  by  a  party 
of  Americans,  an  account  of  whose  experiences 
has  been  preserved  by  Mr.  T.  Suftern  Tailer. 
The  run  was  h^om  Paris  to  Trouville.  The 
party  was  composed  of  Mr.  James  Gordon  Bennett,  of  the  New  York  Herald, 
a  famous  patron  of  genuine  sports  in  whatever  form,  Mr.  T.  Suffern  Tailer, 
Mr.  Eugene  Higgins,  and  Mr.  W.  G.  Tiffany.  These  were  the  "  passengers." 
For  companions  "  inside  the  mail  "  there  were  Mr.  Guiet,  the  builder  of  the 
mail,  Mr.  Luque,  of  the  Figat-o  Illust?-e,  and  Mr.  Hiekel,  an  amateur  photog- 
rapher. Morris  Howlett,  then  a  mere  youth,  was  a  most  efficient  guard.  The 
driver  for  the  first  half  of  the  journey  was  Mr.  Higgins.  He  gave  way  during 
the  second  half  to  Mr.  Tailer. 

The  purpose  of  the  trip  was  to  repeat  as  nearly  as  possible  the  conditions 
of  the  old  mail  trips,  as  well  as  their  time.  The  distance  was  140  miles  over  a 
road  part  of  which  was  level  and  very  good,  while  the  rest  was  extremely  hilly. 
There  were  thirteen  changes.  Of  these,  three  had  never  before  been  in  four- 
harness,  and  the  wheelers  were  rein-shy.      The  horse-keepers  were  far  from  being 


George  R.  Read. 


Coaching 


235 


efficient,  and  the  party  was  obliged  to  harness  many  of  the  horses  themselves. 
Some  of  the  teams  had  been  picked  up  in  Paris  and  were  accustomed  to  any- 
thing but  speedy  work.  It  was  considered  wisdom  to  keep  them  up  to  no  more 
than  seven  miles  an  hour  on  leaving  Paris.  Some  of  the  conclusions  reached 
on  this  interesting  trip  proved  valuable.  For  instance,  it  was  learned  to  be  a 
mistake  to  have  too  many  relays — the  time  lost  in  changing  could  not  be  made 


A.   y.   Cassatt. 


Neilson  Brown. 


up  on  the  short  stages.      Time  was  lost,  too,  in  utilizing  the  cock-horses  for  the 
hill.      The  value  of  the  whip  was  also  demonstrated. 

The  drive  was  made  in  10  hours  and  50  minutes,  an  average  of  a  mile  in 
4  y„  minutes,  or  a  trifle  over  i  2  miles  the  hour.  The  official  time-table  was 
regarded  as  instructive  as  well  as  interesting,  and  is  here  appended  : 

July  12,  I  892.      Down. 

Arrival. 

Paris  Herald  Office. 

St.  Germain 7.08  a.m. 

Vaux 1-SS 

Mantes 8.57 

Bonnieres 9.39 

Pacy-sur-Eure .  .  .  10.30 

Evreux 1 1.29 


Departure. 
6.00  A.M. 
7.12 
7.58 
9.00 

9-45 
10.33 


Arrival.  Departure. 

La  Riviere  Thibouville    t.24  p.m.    1.26  p.m. 


Le  Marche  Neuf 2.06 

Lieurey 2.50 

Bonneville .     .  .    3.40 


Pont  I'Eveque. . 


4.ii 


2.12 
2.56 

3-46 
4.21 


La  Commanderie.    12.28  p.m.    ii.^iyi  p.m. 


Trouville  Town 4-40 

Hotel  Bellevue. 4.50 

140  miles  in  10  hours  and  50  minutes. 


2j6 


Coaching 


Twelve  changes  were  made,  for  which  48  minutes  must  be  allowed,  thus 
making  the  140  miles  in  10  hours  2  minutes,  or  an  average  ot  one  mile  in 
4  3/  minutes.  That  record  was  considered  a  remarkably  good  one..  Compare 
it  with  those  of  the  crack  coaches  of  England  in  1836,  when  London  and 
Brighton,  51)^    miles,  was   made   in    ^]x   hours;   London   and  Shrewsbury,   154 

miles,  in  i  5  hours  ;  London  and  Exeter, 
171  miles,  in  17  hours;  London  and 
Manchester,  187  miles,  in  19  hours; 
London  and  Holyhead,  261  miles,  in  26 
hours  55  minutes;  London  and  Liver- 
pool, 203  miles,  in  20  hours  50  minutes. 
Some  remarkable  records  must  have 
been  made  in  the  early  coaching  days. 
The  Quicksilver  (the  Devonport  mail), 
carrying  colonial  and  foreign  mail,  made 
the  trip  of  2 1 6  miles,  including  stop- 
pages, in  2 1  hours  1 4  minutes.  The 
Independent  Tally-ho,  running  between 
London  and  Birmingham,  travelled  109 
miles  in  7  hours  39  minutes.  That  oc- 
curred on  the  May-day  celebration  (May 
8,  1830),  the  annual  day  for  racing 
against  time.  As  preserved  by  Captain 
Malet,  this  record,  giving  the  time  re- 
quired to  cover  the  distance  horsed  by 
the  various  proprietors,  runs  thus  : 
Mr.  Home,  from  London  to  Colvey,  \J%  miles,  in  i  hour  6  minutes. 
Mr.  Bowman,  from  Colvey  to  Redburn,  17^  miles,  in  i  hour  26  minutes 
(6  minutes  for  breakfast). 

Mr.  Morrell,  Redburn  to  Hockcliffe,  12%   miles,  in   i  hour  4  minutes. 
Mr.  Warden,  Hockcliffe  to  Shenley,  i  i   miles,  in  47  minutes. 
Mr.  May,  Shenley  to  Daventry,  24  miles,  in   i   hour  49  minutes.    " 
Mr.  Garner,   Daventry   to   Coventry,    19^4!   miles,   in    i    hour    12   minutes; 
Coventry  to  Birmingham,  17?+    miles,  in  i   hour  15  minutes. 

This  was  "  the  "  record  which  stands  for  the  best  time  ever  made,  I  believe, 
when  coaching  was  at  its  zenith  in  England. 

A  curious  error  into  which  people  generally  have  fallen  is  that  of  calling 
the  four-in-hand  coach  a  Tally-ho.  Even  the  lexicographers  have  perpetuated 
it,  and  so  I  suppose  it  will  stand,  although  it  may  be  interesting  to  point  it  out. 
De  Lancey  Kane  named  the  four-in-hand  road   coach  which  he   drove  between 


George  R.   Fearing. 


^ 
^ 


s^ 


-) 
s 


p 


^    ? 


XP3 


o    ^ 


t-£S 

a. 


r 

so 


Bryce  Allan. 


Harrison   K.   Caner. 


Coaching 


239 


New  York  and  Pelham,  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  the  Tally-ho.  It  was 
merely  the  name  of  the  vehicle,  given  according  to  English  usage  to  the  coaches 
which  rumbled  over  their  highways,  for  convenience  in  advertising  and  in  con- 
versation, the  same  as  the  name  of  a  sea-going  vessel.  The  word  tally-ho 
originally  related,  we  are  told,  to  fox-hunting,  being  the  early  term  for  the  cry 
of  the  hunter  employed  in  stimulating 
his  hounds.  "Tantivy,"  another  name 
of  a  coach,  as  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Fair- 
man  Rogers,  is  also  allied  to  hunting, 
having  been  associated  distinctively  with 
stag-hunting  as  expressive  of  the  swift, 
sharp  note  of  the  hunting-horn.  But 
the  term  now  recognized  as  properly 
descriptive  ot  a  coach  for  private  driv- 
ing is  "  drag." 

The  introduction  of  coaching  into 
this  country  was  practically  contempo- 
raneous with  its  revival  in  England. 
The  earliest  American  coaching  club 
was  the  Four-in-hand  Club,  which  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  sixties  drove  annu- 
ally to  Jerome  Park  to  witness  the  races. 
A  picture  of  this  club  hung  for  many 
years  on  the  walls  of  the  Jerome  Park 
club-house.  It  had  its  own  house,  a 
pretty  cottage  (only  recently  demolished) 

on  Washington  Heights,  near  Fort  Washington  depot,  which  was  large  enough 
for  dinners  and  a  dance.  The  late  August  Belmont  was  its  president.  Among 
his  associates  were  Griswold  G.  Gray,  George  G.  Haven,  Leonard  Jerome, 
James  V.  Parker,  and  William  Cutting.  The  club  had  its  own  crest — a  left 
hand  with  the  reins  of  a  four-in-hand  adjusted  for  driving.  Its  members  were 
genuinely  interested  in  the  improvement  of  the  breed  of  coaching  horses,  and 
to  their  efforts  may  be  traced  the  development  of  the  animal  hereabouts.  The 
club  is  still  alive,  having  been  reorganized  by  Prescott  Lawrence,  Reginald  W. 
Rives,  and  the  writer.      Its  president  is  Colonel  William  Jay. 

Following  the  Four-in-hand  Club  came  the  Coaching  Club,  which  was 
organized  in  New  York  in  1875,  largely  through  the  efforts  of  Colonel  William 
Jay  and  Mr.  De  Lancey  A.  Kane.  Mr.  Kane  had  already  spent  some  time  in 
working  the  road  in  England.  The  club  was  organized  in  1875.  "^"^^  original 
members  were  James  Gordon   Bennett,  Frederic   Bronson,  William   P.  Douglas, 


F airman   Rogers. 


2^0 


Coaching 


Leonard  Jerome,  William  Jay,  De  Lancey  Kane, 
Nicholson  Kane,  Thomas  Newbold,  and  A. 
Thorndike  Rice.  Membership  in  the  club  was 
limited  to  twenty-five.  The  first  officers  were, 
President,  William  Jay ;  Vice  -  President,  De 
Lancey  Kane  ;  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Frederic 
Bronson. 

The  first  drive  of  the  Coaching  Club  was 
from  New  York  to  Philadelphia  and  return  in 
May,  1878.  Eleven  changes  of  horses  were  pro- 
vided and  twelve  hours  were  allowed  for  covering 
the  distance  of  ninety-eight  miles  between  New 
York  and  Philadelphia.  Subsequent  drives  of  the 
club  have  been  to  Babylon,  Lenox,  Mahwah, 
Newport,  Oakdale,  Hyde  Park,  N.  Y.,  Green- 
field, Conn.,  Groton,  Mass.,  Tuxedo,  Hempstead, 
Shelbourne  Falls,  Vt.,  New  Hamburgh,  N.  Y., 
Babylon,  and  Staatsburg.  Some  of  these  places 
have  been  visited 


more   than    once 
on    the    annual 
Robert  L.   Gerry.  drives.    From  the 

organization  of 
this  club  may  be  dated  the  beginning  of  coaching 
as  a  recognized  sport  in  this  country.  This  club 
has  sixty  members  and  forty-six  drags.  It  main- 
tains the  Pioneer  coach,  which  makes  the  run  of 
fifty-four  miles  daily  between  the  Holland  House, 
New  York  City,  and  Ardsley,  and  which  has 
been  kept  on  the  road  for  three  successive  seasons. 
The  committee  having  it  in  charge  are  Messrs. 
F.  K.  Sturgis  and  R.  W.  Rives. 

Philadelphia  followed  New  York  with  the 
Four  -  in  -  Hand  Club,  organized  February  28, 
1890,  and  still  maintaining  a  healthy  interest  in 
the  sport.  Some  of  the  members  of  the  Coach- 
ing Club  of  New  York  introduced  the  sport  in 
France,  among  them  Messrs.  James  Gordon  Ben- 
nett, Prescott  Lawrence,  Eugene  Higgins,  Regi- 
nald W.  Rives,  William  Jay,  De  Lancey  A.  Kane, 


s^^;555SKSK5;?j!^c?5jf^^v^fr5??:i 


Alfred  G.   Vanderbilt. 


Coaching 


241 


William  G.  Tiffany,  and  Fairman  Rogers.      They  organized  the  Reunion  Road 
Club  of  Paris.      The  sport  finds  enthusiastic  support  in  England  on  the  Ranelagh 


W.   C.   Gulliver. 


De  Lancey  A.   Kane. 


and  Hurlinghani  courses,  the  former  an  excellent  course,  so  regarded  by  skilled 
coachmen.  Only  recently  this  season  a  dozen  coaches  were  mustered  at  Rane- 
lagh, and  the  keenest  rivalry  was  exhibited  tor  the  challenge  cup.  Hurlinghani 
had  its  driving  competition  this  season,  in  which  none  but  ladies  took  part. 

No  sketch  of  the  history  of  coaching  in  America  would  be  complete 
without  giving  ample  credit  to  the  work  done  in  behalf  of  this  noble  sport  by 
Colonel  William  Jay.  His  associates  were  fully  impressed  with  this  fact  when 
they  united  in  giving  expression  to  their  appreciation,  on  the  twentieth  anni- 
versary of  the  Coaching  Club,  by  presenting  him  with  a  handsome  silver  cup. 

Oliver   H.   P.   Belmont. 


THE  COACHING  CLUB 

President. — William  Jay. 

Vice-President. — Reginald  W.  Ri\es. 

Secretary  and  Treasurer. — William  C.  Gulliver. 

Executive  Committee. — Prescott  Lawrence,  Alfred  G.  Vanderbilt,  Robert  L.  Gerry. 

Metnbers. — Charles  A.  Baldwin,  J.  D.  Roman  Baldwin,  August  Belmont,  Oliver  H.  P.  Belmont, 
Perry  Belmont,  James  Gordon  Bennett,  A.  S.  Bigelow,  Neilson  Brown,  Alexander  J.  Cassatt,  William 
P.  Douglas,  Tracy  Dows,  George  P.  Eustis,  Frederick  Gebhard,  Robert  Livingston  Gerry,  William  C. 
Gulliver,  Theodore  A.  Havemeyer,  George  Griswold  Haven,  George  G.  Haven,  Jr.,  Eugene  Higgins, 
Thomas  Hitchcock,  Jr.,  C.  Oliver  Iselin,  William  Jay,  DeLancey  A.  Kane,  S.  Nicholson  Kane,  Gus- 
tav  E.  Kissel,  Prescott  Lawrence,  Richard  McCreery,  George  von  L.  Meyer,  Ogden  Mills,  Edwin  D. 
Morgan,  William  Forbes  Morgan,  Edward  Morrell,  Richard  Mortimer,  Stanley  Mortimer,  George  R. 
Read,  Reginald  W.  Rives,  J.  Roosevelt  Roosevelt,  F.  Augustus  Schermerhorn,  W.  Watts  Sherman,  F. 
K.  Sturgis,  E.  V.  R.  Thayer,  Nathaniel  Thayer,  James  J.  Van  Alen,  Alfred  G.  Vanderbilt,  William  K. 
Vanderbilt,  W.  Seward  Webb,  George  Peabody  Wetmore,  Harry  Payne  Whitney,  William  C.  Whit- 
ney, William  Woodward. 

Honorary  Member. — The  Duke  of  Beaufort. 

Deceased. — George  A.  Beck,  August  Belmont,  Isaac  Bell,  Jr.,  H.  R.  A.  Carey,  Hugo  O.  Fritsch, 
Charles  F.  Havemeyer,  Theodore  A.  Havemeyer,  Leonard  W.  Jerome,  C.  H.  Joy,  N.  Griswold  Loril- 
lard,  Isaac  H.  Reed,  Francis  R.  Rives,  Fairman  Rogers. 

Resigned. — F.  O.  Beach,  Charles  Carroll,  George  R.  Fearing,  Pierre  Lorillard,  Frederick  Neilson,* 
Thomas  Newbold,  Harry  Oelrichs,  E.  M.  Padelford,  James  V.  Parker,  Perry  Tiffany,  A.  Thorndike 
Rice,*  Christopher  R.  Robert,*  William  R.  Travers,  Francis  T.  Underbill,  Augustus  Whiting. 


FOUR-IN-HAND  CLUB  OF  PHILADELPHIA 

President. — Edward  Morrell. 

Vice-President. — Edward  Browning. 

Secretary. — Edward  B.  Smith. 

Treasurer. — William  L.  Elkins,   Jr. 

Members. — J.  C.  Mercer  Biddle,  Edward  Brooke,  Neilson  Brown,  Edward  Browning,  Harrison  K. 
Caner,  A.  J.  Cassatt,  B.  Dawson  Coleman,  William  E.  Carter,  A.  J.  Drexel,  C.  Davis  Enghsh,  William 
L.  Elkins,  Jr.,  Henry  Fairfax,  Samuel  F.  Houston,  H.  P.  McKean,  Jr.,  E.  Rittenhouse  Miller,  Edward 
Morrell,  J.  Willis  Martin,  P.  S.  P.  Randolph,  Reginald  Rives,  Edward  B.  Smith,  William  Struthers, 
Barclay  H.  Warburton,  I.  G.  Waterman,  J.  E.  Widener,  Samuel  Megargee  Wright. 

Deceased. — John  R.  Fell. 

Resigned. — G.  W.  C.  Drexel. 

*  Deceased. 


THE  AUTOMOBILE 
AND  A  UTOMOBILING 

ALBERT  C  BOSTWICK 

THE  AUTOMOBILE 
AND  ITS  RELATION 
TO  GOOD  ROADS 

COL.  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR 


AUTOMOBILES  & 
AUTOMOBILING 

BY   ALBERT    C.    BOSTWICK 


1^ 


O  other  form  of  mechanism  has  attracted  the  general  attention  and 
interest  in  this  last  five  years  like  the  selt-propelling  vehicle.  In 
peace  and  in  war  it  has  been  the  subject  of  varied  experimenta- 
tion. The  highways  of  civilization  buzz  with  the  sound  ot  its 
mechanism.  Across  the  troubled  veldts  of  South  Africa  it  bears 
the  supplies  of  war  to  the  British  soldiery,  and  in  the  recent 
French  field  manoeuvres  it  carried  the  staff  officers  of  mimic  warfare.  Not  only 
has  every  European  nation  its  automobile  clubs,  but  the  movement  has  taken 
hold  on  the  far  corners  of  the  earth.  The  Malay  Transport  Syndicate  under- 
takes to  carry  the  dark-skinned  habitants  of  the  Malay  Peninsula  in  motor  car- 
riages from  village  to  village  at  a  moderate  charge,  while  the  striped  tiger  slinks 
farther  into  his  forest,  terrified  at  the  rush  of  a  new  invading  force  of  civilization. 
Public  opinion  would  probably  hold  that  the  automobile  is  the  product  ot 
recent  years.  This  is  a  mistake.  It  is  a  resurrection  of  recent  years.  Be- 
fore the  nineteenth  century  was  born  the  auto-carriage  traversed  American 
roads,  and  it  had  been  preceded  by  the  invention  of  Cugnot,  a  Frenchman, 
who  in  1769  built  and  operated  a  self-propelling  road  vehicle.  To  Oliver 
Evans,  of  Pennsylvania,  belongs  the  credit  of  the  first  American  automobile.  In 
1786  he  petitioned  the  Legislature  of  that  State  for  the  exclusive  right  to  use  a 
steam-engine  of  his  own  invention  for  power  in  a  flour-mill  and  a  steam-carriage. 
That  august  body  was  graciously  pleased  to  grant  the  flour-mill  specification, 
but  did  not  regard  the  steam-carriage  as  worth  attention.  Nevertheless  Evans, 
a  few  years  later,  contrived  for  the  Board  of  Health  of  Philadelphia  a  steam- 
dredge  that  was  a  sort  of  amphibious  automobile  contrivance,  inasmuch  as  it 
travelled  by  its  own  power,  on  wheels,  a  considerable  distance  from  the  factory 
to  the  river,  and  there,  being  set  in  the  water,  paddled  successfully  away. 

It  was  not  until  1801  that  the  English  went  into  the  automobile  business 
with  any  success.  One  Trevethick  made  several  successful  road  trips  in  a  steam- 
carriage  of  his  own  invention,  in  that  year.  From  that  time  on  to  the  middle 
of  the  century  various  ventures  were  made  by  Hancock,  Gurney,  Griffiths, 
Maceroni,  and  others,  but  without  permanent  success.  Powerful  opposition  to 
the  steam-motor  developed  among  the  country  gentry ;  and  between   high  tolls. 


246 


Automobiles    tS  Automobi/ing 


# 


poor  roads,  and  legislative  obstacles  the  business  of  automobiling  languished. 
Sometimes  opposition  took  a  very  decided  and  practical  form,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  automobile  coach  built  by  Scott  Russell,  designer  and  constructor  of  the 
Great  Eastern,  to  run  between  Glasgow  and  Paisley.  Several  successful  trips 
were  made  and  the  coach  was  in   a  fair  way  to   a  good  patronage  when  some  of 

the  country  people  evinced  their  disap- 
proval of  this  form  of  locomotion  by 
placing  a  barrier  of  broken  stone  eigh- 
teen inches  high  in  the  roadway.  Com- 
ing down  a  hill  at  high  speed  the  coach 
struck  this  obstruction  and  was  over- 
turned. The  boiler  burst,  killing  a 
dozen  of  the  passengers,  and  automo- 
biling had  received  a  blow  from  which 
it  did  not  recover  for  long.  There  are 
old  people  in  that  part  of  the  country 
who  to-day  call  to  mind  as  an  argument 
against  automobiles  the  fate  ot  Scott 
Russell's  steam-coach.  From  the  mid- 
dle of  the  century  on  to  the  present  re- 
naissance there  was  little  done  in  Eng- 
land in  the  way  of  automobiling. 

Returning  to  America,  we  find  J. 
K.  Fisher  building  at  least  one,  and 
perhaps  more  that  one,  road  locomotive 
in  1850.  It  does  not  appear  that  his  contrivance  was  remarkably  successful, 
though  it  made  some  trips  at  a  fair  rate  of  speed.  About  1855  Robert  Dud- 
geon built  a  steam  auto-carriage  which  made  trips  on  the  level  Long  Island 
roads.  Its  wheels  were  of  solid  wood  and  it  had  an  inclined  cylinder.  It  is  said 
that  it  was  viewed  with  marked  dislike  by  Dudgeon's  horse-owning  neighbors. 

In  the  fall  of  1900  the  Dudgeon  vehicle  was  found  by  a  member  ot  the 
Dudgeon  family  in  a  barn  at  Locust  Valley,  Long  Island,  where  it  had  been 
harbored  for  nearly  half  a  century.  It  was  in  fairly  good  condition  and  after  a 
little  furbishing  was  taken  out  on  the  road  and  ran  successfully,  to  the  unlimited 
amazement  of  the  community,  who  hailed  it  as  a  "  locomotive  broke  loose." 
At  the  present  writing  the  intention  is  to  run  the  old  auto-car  to  this  city  for 
the  Automobile  Exhibition.  ' 

From  1855  to  1890  the  automobile  industry  languished  in  this  country, 
though  there  were  some  sporadic  and  ineffectual  attempts  to  revive  it.  In  1890 
a  man  named  Roper  built  himself  a  steam-bicycle,  for  which  he  claimed  that  it 


f 


A.  R.  S  hat  tuck. 


Automobiles    tS  Automohiling 


247 


would  develop  a  high  speed.      On  one  of  his  early  attempts  it  developed  a  speed 
so  startlingly  high  that  the  unfortunate  inventor  died  of  heart  disease  within  a  few 
minutes  after  dismounting.      Not  long  after  this  the  modern   automobile  began 
to  make  its  way   into  public  favor  in  France,  and  several  years   later  one  of  the 
French  manufacturing  firms,  the  Gardner-Serpollet  Company,  tried  to  introduce 
their  product  here,  but  without  success. 
No  other  French  company  has  up  to  the 
present  time  succeeded  in  getting  a  tirm 
foothold   here,    though    it    seems   likely 
that  the  De  Dion  &  Bouton  make   may 
some   day  reach   a  high  point   of  popu- 
larity.      Some    years    ago    the    Daimler 
motor,  which   has  been   made  the  basis 
of  the  best  French  and  German  automo- 
biles, was  introduced  here,  Daimler  hav- 


'"^ 


R.  R.  Conklin. 


ing  sold  the  American  rig-hts  ot  his 
patent  to  the  Steinway  Syndicate.  It 
was  intended  for  use  in  launches  here. 
Barring  unforeseen  contingencies  it 
might  very  likely  have  been  established 
as  an  automobile  motor  in  this  country, 
but  the  Steinway  Syndicate,  shortly  after 
the  purchase,  became  involved  in  finan- 
cial difficulties,  and  before  the  automo- 
bile of  the  modern  type  was  thought  ot 

here  the  syndicate  ceased  to  push  the  new  motor.  I  cannot  find  that  it  was  ever 
applied  to  automohiling  on  this  side  ot  the  ocean.  Since  then  the  Daimler  pat- 
ents have  been  bought  and  applied  to  automobiles  in  almost  every  nation  which  has 
adopted  this  line  ot  sport. 

Ot  all  the  self-propelling  carriages  which  have  since  filled  the  American  mar- 
ket, the  first  to  recommend  itself  prominently  and  practically  to  the  public  was 
the  electric  carriage  made  by  the  Pope  Manufacturing  Company.  This  machine 
was  exhibited  at  a  general  electric  exhibition  held  at  Madison  Square  Garden  in 
1897  ^""i  attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention.  Its  free  and  noiseless  action  and 
the  ease  with  which  it  was  controlled,  as  exhibited  there,  constituted  strong  bids 
tor  popularity,  and  for  a  time  there  was  a  lively  sale  of  these  automobiles,  but 
the  high  price  of  $2,500  kept  them  from  becoming  popularized  in  a  general 
way.  At  that  time  this  country  had  not  become  familiar  with  the  automobile 
style  of  locomotion,  and  $2,500  was  a  large  sum  to  put  into  what  was  then  re- 
garded as  an   experimental   vehicle.      Then,  too,  there  are   certain  disadvantages 


248 


Automobiles    tS  Automobiling 


offsetting  the  noiseless  movement  and  ease  of  control  of  the  electric  machine. 
The  weight  of  the  battery  is  far  out  of  proportion  to  the  power  generated.  A 
carriage  which  will  go  thirty  miles  at  the  rate  often  miles  an  hour  on  a  single 
charge  ot  electricity  weighs  one  ton,  whereas  a  gasoline  automobile  of  the  same 

weight  will  travel  twenty-Jive  miles  an  hour 
indefinitely,  allowing,  of  course,  for  the  till- 
ing of  the  tank,  each  replenishment  meaning 
fuel  tor  seventy-tive  to  one  hundred  miles. 
Again,  the  electric  battery  is  very  expensive, 
besides  being  short  lived  and  of  so  delicate  a 
constitution  that  it  is  likely  to  become  in- 
capacitated from  slight  causes,  and  requires 
the  most  delicate  handling  and  care-nursing, 
one  might  almost  say.  Last  year  an  electric 
automobile  won  a  fifty-mile  road  race  on 
Long  Island,  averaging  twenty-five  miles  an 
hour  ;  time  which,  in  view  of  the  speed  at- 
tained by  the  foreign  machines  in  more  re- 
cent races,  must  be  regarded  as  slow.  \\\ 
doing  this  the  machine  used  up  its  special 
racing  batteries,  known  as  pasted  cells.  They 
could  never  be  charged  again.  This  alone 
meant  a  cost  of  §400  to  win  that  race.  Later 
on  the  same  machine  started  in  the  road  race 
from  New  York  to  Philadelphia,  having  five 
sets  of  batteries  stationed  at  equidistant  points 
along  the  road;  but  there  was  trouble  with 
the  original  set  and  the  vehicle  never  got  to 
the  second  battery.  Had  the  machine  finished  this  race  it  would  have  been  at 
an  outlay  of  $2,000  for  batteries,  as  these  special  batteries  are  always  used  up  in 
racing  at  high  speed. 

My  own  experience  with  the  electric  automobile  began  at  the  electrical 
exhibition  mentioned  above.  I  was  so  taken  with  the  phaeton  exhibited  there 
that  I  got  the  expert  in  charge  to  take  me  out  in  it.  It  was  a  new  and  delight- 
ful experience  for  me  ;  the  motion  was  unlike  anything  I  had  evef  before  ex- 
perienced. When  the  lever  was  pushed  forward  and  the  car  started  off,  it  was 
like  floating  away  in  a  dream.  In  two  weeks  I  had  an  electric  automobile  of 
my  own,  and  I  could  hardly  wait  for  it  to  arrive.  The  experience  of  learning 
to  operate  it  was  more  pleasant  for  me  than  for  my  instructor,  I  fancy.  Before 
it  was  over   and  I  had    become   able   to  paddle  my  own  car,  so  to  speak,  he  had 


Alexander  Winton. 


Automobiles    iS  Automohiling 


249 


wrinkles  in  his  forehead  and  a  drawn  expression  about  the  eyes,  which  I  attrib- 
ute to  the  fact  that  he  never  knew  what  kind  of  a  vehicle  we  were  o-oing  to 
collide  with  next  under  my  dashing  management.  One  of  my  little  habits  was 
to  forget  which  way  I  should  push  the  lever  when  we  came  up  behind  another 
wagon,  and  shove  it  forward,  thereby  turn- 
ing on  more  speed,  instead  of  drawing  it  back. 
However,  I  got  through  without  any  serious 
accidents,  not  a  little  pleased  with  myself 
and  my  machine.  After  two  months'  use, 
my  batteries,  though  under  the  care  of  an 
expert  from  the  factory,  gave  out,  to  my 
great  surprise  and  disgust.  I  discharged  the 
expert  and  put  in  a  new  set  of  batteries, 
which,  I  am  glad  to  say,  are  still  in  use. 

As  to  the  distance  which  can  be  covered 
on  one  charge,  I  found  that  fifteen  miles  at 
the  rate  of  ten  miles  an  hour  was  about  all 
that  could  be  expected  of  the  machine. 
Once  when  the  battery  was  new  I  did  about 
twenty  miles,  but  the  last  four  miles  was  at 
a  creeping  pace.  If  the  battery  is  pushed  to 
anything  like  its  limit  it  soon  wears  out  and 
the  distance  that  can  be  covered  decreases 
every  day.  It  is  just  like  the  human  body. 
A  man  in  fairly  good  condition  can  go  out 
and  walk  ten  miles  a  day  indefinitely.  That 
same  man  could  walk  forty  miles  in  a  day  if 
he  had  to,  but  if  he  tried  to  do  it  many  days 

in  succession  he  would  soon  break  down  and  become  unable  to  do  any  walk- 
ing at  all.  He  would  be  drawing  on  his  limited  supply  of  vital  energy.  If 
the  owner  of  an  electric  automobile  will  consider  it  from  that  point  of  view  he 
will  get  more  out  of  it  than  he  will  by  running  it  recklessly.  Fifteen  miles  a 
day  is  a  good  average  for  an  electric  machine. 

Steam. — A  year  after  my  experiences  with  the  electric  vehicle  I  heard 
enthusiastic  reports  of  a  small  steam-carriage  made  at  Newton,  Mass.,  by  the  Stan- 
ley Brothers,  and,  going  there,  was  taken  out  in  one  of  their  runabouts.  Here, 
again,  I  was  delighted.  The  machine  seemed  to  run  as  smoothly  as  the  electric 
machine,  with  practically  the  same  ease  of  control,  and  to  have  an  unlimited 
number  of  rates  of  speed  within  the  maximum.  Moreover,  the  car  took  the 
stiffest  hills  without  apparent  effort.      I  promptly  set  about   learning   how  to  run 


A.  L.   Ri 


^50 


Automobiles    iS  Automohiling 


this  engaging  form  of  auto-car,  but  to  get  one  wasn't  a  matter  of  such  promp- 
titude. To  my  disgust  I  found  it  would  be  several  months  before  my  order 
could  be  filled.  With  what  patience  I  might  I  waited  through  those  months 
only  to  be  regretfully  informed  that  two  months  more  would  be  required  to 
furnish  me  with  a  machine.  Then  I  paid  a  premium  and  got  one  of  the  run- 
abouts without  further  delay.  Mean- 
time I  had  had  time  to  forget  much  of 
what  I  had  learned  about  the  conduct 
of  the  machine.  The  most  important 
thing  I  had  forgotten  was  the  necessity 
of  heating  the  torch  in  getting  up  steam. 
Any  owner  ot  one  of  these  now  well- 
known  steam-carriages  can  surmise  what 
happened.  Opening  the  naphtha  valve, 
I  let  the  naphtha  run  into  the  fire-box 
and  lighted  it.  Immediately  it  spit  fire 
like  a  dragon,  scorching  all  the  paint 
ofl^  the  back  of  my  carriage  and  most 
of  the  skin  off  my  fingers.  After  satis- 
fying myself  that  neither  the  carriage 
nor  I  had  been  put  out  of  commission 
by  the  accident,  I  determined  to  run 
that  car  out  of  my  stable  under  its  own 
power  before  I  took  any  other  kind  of 
an  automobile  ride  ;  so  I  telephoned  to 
one  of  the  firm  of  makers  and  got  in- 
structions. It  was  late  that  night- when 
I  had  found  out  what  I  wanted  to  know,  but  the  next  morning  I  was  up  at 
five  o'clock  and  ready  to  start  for  my  country  place  at  Mamaroneck,  a  distance 
of  twenty-five  miles.  I  thought  I  would  give  myself  plenty  of  time  in  case  of 
mishaps.      It  was  just  as  well  that  I  did. 

For  fourteen  miles  the  machine  behaved  perfectly.  Then  the  steam  began 
to  go  down,  and  presently  I  was  at  a  stop  in  a  spot  that  had  no  particular 
attractions  for  me.  The  reason  wasn't  far  to  seek  ;  we  were  out  of  naphtha. 
Several  courses  were  now  open  to  me.  I  could  get  out  and  push, 'a  somewhat 
inglorious  method  of  locomotion  ;  or  I  could  search  for  someone  whom  I  could 
hire  to  push,  a  highly  uncertain  procedure ;  or  I  could  industriously  walk  to 
some  place  where  naphtha  could  be  had,  and  bring  back  with  me  a  supply  of 
that  needed  motive  power.  This  last  I  decided  to  do.  There  have  been  times 
when  I  enjoyed  a  mile  walk  more  than  I  did   the   ramble  to  the  nearest   town  ; 


J.  Dunbar  Wright. 


Albert  C.  Bostwick. 

Vice-President  of  the   Automobile    Club. 


Eugene  H.  Lewis. 


IVillard  P.  Reid. 


Wm.  H.  Hall. 


Automobiles   iS  Automobiling 


253 


there  are  towns  for  which  I  have  a  higher  regard  than  I  have  for  that  particular 
one.  There  didn't  seem  to  be  a  person  in  the  place  who  knew  what  naphtha 
was.  The  hrst  individual  to  whom  I  applied  for  information  as  to  where  I 
could  get  some,  reckoned  that  they  kept  "  thet  line  o'  goods  "  at  the  local  dry- 
goods  store,  but  presently  came  hastening  alter  me  to  confess  that  what  he  was 
thinking  of  wasn't  "  napthy  "  after  all, 
but  linoleum  !  Then  I  took  a  train  for 
New  Rochelle.  There  I  got  my  sup- 
ply of  naphtha,  returned,  hred  up  again, 
and  was  off.  But  my  troubles  were  not 
yet  over  ;  there  seemed  to  be  something 
wrong  with  the  New  Rochelle  brand 
of  naphtha;  I  might  almost  as  well  have 
got  the  linoleum.  In  a  few  minutes  the 
machine  began  to  exhibit  the  same  pain- 
ful symptoms  and  presently  subsided  into 
a  condition  of  coma.  The  naphtha  had 
gone  out.  I  lighted  it,  but  it  promptly 
went  out  again.  Again  I  lighted  it  and 
'  repeated  the  performance  for  an  hour 
or  so.  By  this  time  it  was  dark  and  I 
had  acquired  a  certain  mejital  attitude 
toward  the  whole  tribe  of  automobiles 
which  I  have  since  readjusted.  Finally 
I  gave  up  the  trial,  and,  consigning  the 
machine  to  a  friendly  barn — not  to  men- 
tion certain  other  places — I  went  home 

in  a  train.  To  this  day  I  don't  know  what  was  the  matter  unless  it  was  the 
poor  quality  of  the  naphtha.  In  subsequent  trips  I  encountered  all  the  rest  of 
the  drawbacks  to  this  kind  of  automobiling  ;  lost  nuts  and  bolts  and  other  es- 
sentials, burned  out  the  boiler,  set  the  car  atire,  scorched  successive  layers  of 
cuticle  from  my  hands  and  arms,  and,  in  general,  waged  a  losing  fight  against 
the  perversity  of  inanimate  nature  as  exemplified  in  that  machine.  Then  fate 
delivered  into  my  hands  a  man  who  could  run  any  kind  of  a  steam-machine 
that  ever  was  invented — or  thought  he  could — and  to  him  I  sold  the  vehicle. 
I  believe  he  survived,  though  he  never  came  back  to  tell  me  whether  he  had 
changed  his  ideas. 

This  may  seem  to  make  out  a  bad  case  for  the  steam-automobile,  but  each 
kind  of  machine  has  its  drawbacks.      I    can    frankly  say  that    in   my  estimation 


G.   Creighton   Webb. 


there  is  no  better  power  than  steam  for  self-propelling  carriages — in  fact   it  is 


254- 


Automohiles    tS  Automobiling 


the  ideal  power  for  this  kind  of  locomotion,  for  many  reasons.  Moreover,  the 
present  locomobile  is  a  vast  improvement  upon  the  original  machine  in  which 
I  took  my  adventurous  trip.  Steam  is  sure  ;  it  responds  quickly.  The  grada- 
tions of  speed  of  a  steam  machine  are  limited  only  by  the  delicacy  of  the  touch 
on  the  throttle,  whereas  all   the  other  forms  of  motive   power    have   fixed   rates 

of  speed  which  cannot  be  easily  varied.  It 
is  not,  however,  successful  in  long  runs.  The 
necessity  of  priniing  the  boiler  and  of  keep- 
ing the  gasoline  for  fuel  under  pressure  are 
nuisances.  Then  the  tank  is  likely  to  leak 
and  the  pump  is  prone  to  get  out  of  order. 
There  is  too  much  to  look  after.  One  must 
keep  an  eye  on  the  water-gauge,  the  steam- 
gauge,  the  air-pressure  gauge,  and  the  reg- 
ulating of  the  pump  —  four  eyes  in  all,  a 
larger  complement  than  the  average  man 
possesses.  My  experience  in  operating  a 
steam -carriage  is  that  it  demands  more  of 
the  operator  and  is  more  wearing  on  his  fac- 
ulties than  any  other  form  of  automobile. 
For  night  work  it  is  impracticable  ;  there  is 
too  much  to  be  looked  after.  If  any  one 
of  a  number  of  small  matters  is  left  undone 
or  goes  awry  of  its  own  accord  there  is  a 
variety  of  trouble.  I  have  started  out  having 
forgotten    to    turn    a    water-cock    and    come 


Dr.    Truman   J.   Martin. 


to  a  stop  five  miles  out   in  the  country  with 


all    the    water    in    the    boiler    gone    to  steam. 


Hobson's   choice,    get    out   and 


walk,  was  the  order  of  the  day.  My  boiler  was  ruined  and  I  had  to  get  a  new 
one.  More  than  once  I  have  had  the  pressure  that  keeps  the  gas  up  fail  me, 
and  have  gone  along  a  road  streaming  fire  rearward  like  a  comet  until  some 
wondering  small  boy,  amazed  at  the  spectacle  of  a  modern  Elijah  in  his  chariot 
of  flame,  warned  me  with  a  shout  of,  "  Hey,  Mister,  you're  all  on  fire  !  "  That 
is  the  result  of  the  gasoline  flowing  into  the  fire-box  upon  loss  of  the  pressure. 
If  the  flames  aren't  promptly  quenched  they  reach  the  naphtha  tank,  and  then 
you  will  need  another  automobile  ;  or  perhaps  there  will  be  an  explosion,  with 
dire  results.  In  trying  to  put  out  the  flames  you  usually  get  burned  more  or 
less  severely,  but  that  is  one  of  the  incidental  delights  of  the  sport. 

It  does  not  seem  to  me  that  the  steam-automobile  can  successfully  compete 
with  the  gasoline  machine  until  it  discards  the  present  means  of  firing,  reduces 


Automobiles    IS  Automobiling 


255 


the  amount  ot  water  and  gasoline  it  is  now  compelled  to  carry,  and  discards  the 
shell  boiler,  which  is  a  constant  danger.  Nevertheless  steam  promises  to  be,  in  its 
eventual  development,  the  most  practical  and  effective  power  for  the  automobile. 

Gasoline. — At  the  present  stage  of  development  the  gasoline  automotor 
is  the  most  practical,  considered  all  in  all.  In  lasting  quality  and  cheapness  of 
operation  it  surpasses  all  its  rivals.  On  a  sin- 
gle charge  it  can  cover  trom  seventy-five  to 
one  hundred  miles,  as  against  twenty  -  five 
miles  for  the  steam  or  electric  vehicle.  It 
requires  less  care  than  any  other  vehicle  and 
can  stand  more  wear  and  tear.  Its  chief  de- 
fects are  the  noise  of  the  engine,  the  neces- 
sity of  changing  the  gearing  to  attain  differ- 
ent degrees  of  speed,  and  the  motion,  which 
is  not  as  easy  as  that  of  an  electric  or  steam 
automotor,  particularly  when  at  a  low  rate  of 
speed.  Some  people  have  a  prejudice  against 
the  gasoline  automobile  because  of  the  odor, 
but  this  is  a  matter  of  getting  a  good  mixt- 
ure and  perfect  combustion. 

The  best  American  machine  up  to  the 
present  time  is,  according  to  my  views,  the 
output  of  the  Winton  Motor  Carriage  Com- 
pany, a  single-cylinder  engine  in  an  ordinary 
carriage  developing  about  six  to  seven  horse- 
power. My  first  carriage  of  this  make  was  a 
one-cylinder  engine  rated  as  a  six  horse-power, 

although  I  believe  that,  if  I  had  tested  it,  it  would  not  have  shown  a  development 
of  more  than  five  horse-power.  For  general  use  I  found  it  more  practical  than 
any  other  automobile  I  had  owned,  used,  or  seen.  The  inventor  of  this  automo- 
bile and  the  head  of  the  company  that  makes  it  is  an  example  oi  the  success  that 
can  be  made  in  this  line  of  manufacture.  He  is  a  Scotchman,  and  was  an 
engineer  up  to  the  time  when  he  came  to  this  country  and  embarked  in  the 
bicycle  business,  in  which  he  made  quite  a  little  fortune.  Becoming  imbued 
with  the  idea  that  a  self-propelling  vehicle  built  on  the  strong,  light,  and  easy 
running  order  of  the  bicycle  would  catch  the  public,  he  made  a  study  of  the 
subject,  and  presently  launched  himself  in  the  business  of  automobile  manufact- 
ure.     He  was  one  of  the  first  to  foresee  the  popularity  of  this  branch  of  sport. 

Although   this    proceeding    savored    somewhat    of  speculation,   considering 
the   untried   nature   of  the    enterprise,  as   soon    as  he   got    fairly  going  Winton 


Colonel  Albert  A.  Pope. 


2=;6 


■J 


Automobiles    tS  Automohiling 


exhibited  the  conservatism  and  caution  so  characteristic  of  his  canny  race.  He 
got  out  several  patents  and  built  up  this  business  little  by  little  until  it  reached 
its  present  state.  One  effect  oi  his  conservatism  was  to  preserve  him  against 
adopting  recklessly  new  designs  or  alleged  improvements  which  had  no  basis  in 
real  worth.      When  the  international  automobile  race  for  the  Bennett  Challenge 

Cup  was  arranged  in  France  the  Winton 
,<-'■  machine  was   the  first   American    repre- 

sentative chosen  tor  the  competition. 
Winton  himself  took  one  of  his  auto- 
mobiles over,  and  himseli  ran  it  in  the 
race,  but  unfortunately  came  to  disaster. 
I  was  on  the  road  in  one  ot  my  cars  a 
short  distance  behind  him  during  the 
race,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  he  rather 
lost  his  head  at  seeing  the  French  car- 
riages draw  up  and  pass  him.  Up  to 
that  time  he  had  been  doing  well,  but 
he  then  lost  control  ot  his  machine  and 
dove  into  the  bank  at  one  side  of  the 
road.  He  immediately  got  back  to  the 
roadway,  but  his  axle  was  sprung,  turn- 
ing one  of  his  wheels  part  way  over. 
Notwithstanding  this  handicap  he  pluck- 
ily  kept  on  until,  ten  miles  farther  on, 
the  tire  ot  the  affected  wheel  came  off 
and  he  was  forced  to  drop  out.  As  to  the  gasoline  automotor  in  general,  I  have 
discarded  all  other  forms  in  favor  of  it.  The  cost  of  the  American  machines  is 
high — from  $i,ooo  to  $1,500 — and  this  may  keep  them  from  coming  into  as 
general  use  as  some  of  the  smaller  and  less  expensive  vehicles.  It  is  my  opinion 
that  the  small  voiturette,  which  is  a  light  and  comparatively  inexpensive  gasoline 
machine  of  French  make,  will  become  the  most  popular  form  of  any.  It  has 
the  cardinal  virtue  of  being  very  easy  to  control.  Many  of  these  machines  have 
been  imported  here,  and  are  already  striding  into  popularity.  All  around  Paris 
and  the  vicinity  these  little  vehicles  hum  like  swarms  of  bees. 

Construction.  —  In  considering  the  important  question  of  construction 
and  the  various  parts  of  the  automobile,  I  wish  to  say  a  word  as  to  the  basis 
for  my  estimates;  to  qualify,  as  it  were,  as  an  expert  witness.  Most  ot  the 
American  makes  of  automobile  I  have  owned  and  run,  and  many  of  them  I  have 
studied  in  process  of  construction.  Of  the  foreign  machines  I  have  owned  a 
number.      Moreover,  I   have  studied  two   months  in   the  garage  of  the  famous 


Hon.   Josiah  ^dncy. 


Automobiles    iS  Automohiling 


257 


Charron  in  Paris,  doing  a  mechanic's  work  in  his  factories  for  the  opportunity 
it  gave  me  to  famiUarize  myself  thoroughly  with  the  automobile  as  made  there. 
I  am  hound  to  say  that  the  foreign  makers  of  automobiles  are  years  in  advance 
of  us  in  most  important  particulars.  In  fact,  it  would  be  difficult  to  name  a 
single  detail  in  which  the  American  makes  excel.  Generally  speaking,  the  gas- 
oline machines  are  regarded  abroad  as 
the  best  type.  One  ot  the  most  impor- 
tant questions  that  the  builders  have  to 
consider  is  that  of  the  tire.  In  this  coun- 
try the  single-tube  tire  has  been  univer- 
sally adopted ;  whereas  the  foreign  cus- 
tom holds  to  the  double  tube.  Each  has 
its  advantages  and  disadvantages.  As  to 
which  is  the  more  liable  to  puncture, 
opinions  are  divided  without  much  hope 
of  agreement.  The  single-tube  tire  is 
thicker  and,  one  would  suppose,  has 
therefore  greater  power  of  resistance; 
but,  once  punctured,  it  is  not  readily  re- 
paired, as  the  great  pressure  upon  it  is 
likely  to  split  wide  open  the  hole  that 
has  been  plugged.  The  other  style  of 
tire  has  a  heavy  outer  tube  and  a  thin 
inner  tube.  In  case  of  puncture  the  in- 
ner tube   is   taken    out    and    a    new   one 

inserted.  The  lightness  of  the  inner  tube  renders  it  possible  to  take  along 
a  number  of  extras,  an  advantage  not  possible  with  the  single-tube  tire  on  ac- 
count of  its  weight  and  cumbrousness.  Again,  the  single  tube  is  so  bolted  to 
the  rim  of  the  wheel  as  to  be  very  difficult  to  remove.  Overheating  of  the 
tire  is  a  mishap  to  the  prevention  of  which  much  ingenuity  has  been  expended 
without  any  satisfactory  result.  When  going  at  high  speed  the  tire  often  be- 
comes so  heated  as  to  expand  the  air  to  a  point  where  it  bursts  the  tire.  This 
is  not  only  decidedly  disheartening  and  discomforting  to  the  rider,  but  is  danger- 
ous, as  the  sudden  let-down  is  likely  to  result  in  an  overturn.  After  going  over 
cobble-stones  I  have  found  my  tire  so  hot  that  I  burned  my  hand  in  touching 
it.  Experiments  have  been  made  with  solid  tires,  but  in  travel  over  ordinary 
roads  the  jolting  knocks  the  machine  all  to  pieces,  not  to  mention  the  effect 
upon  the  nerves  and  the  bony  structure  of  the  rider.  Many  iron-clad  and  metal- 
rimmed  tires  have  been  tried,  and  some  have  been  widely  exploited.  They  have 
proved  to  be  freaks  and  are  impracticable. 


Edwin  W.  Adams. 


'5^ 


Automobiles    iS  Automobiling 


Steering. — In  France  all  the  auto-carriages  at  first  were  steered  by  the 
lever,  a  method  known  popularly  as  stick-steering.  When  high  speeds  were 
developed,  however,  a  serious  defect  in  this  style  of  directing  became  apparent. 
The  lever  was  altogether  too  sensitive  to    shock.      A  sudden  jolt  from  stone  or 

rut  was  likely  to  jerk  it  from  the  hand. 
In  several  cases  this  mishap  was  attended 
with  the  direst  results.  To  travel  at 
any  considerable  speed  with  reasonable 
safety  meant  hanging  to  the  lever  with 
an  unflagging  grip  every  moment.  This 
was  a  source  of  great  discomfort  and 
*  took  half  the  pleasure  out  of  the  sport. 
After  several  fatal  accidents  resulting 
from  loss  of  control  of  the  lever,  this 
method  of  steering  became  very  un- 
popular. Several  other  methods  were 
tried,  but  the  one  which  commended 
itself  most  favorably  to  the  automobil- 
ing public  was  the  wheel  with  worm 
steering-gear  which  is  now  practically 
universal  in  France.  No  matter  how 
severe  the  shock  received  from  rock, 
rut,  or  other  obstruction,  it  is  not  com- 
municated to  the  hand  in  the  slightest 
degree  in  this  method  of  control.  Moreover,  the  danger  from  swerving,  which 
is  very  great  when  a  high  degree  of  speed  is  attained,  is  done  away  with  by  the 
use  of  the  worm  steering-gear,  and  it  does  not  demand  from  the  operator  the 
constant  strain  which  is  necessary  when  the  stick  steering-gear  is  used.  In  this 
country  automobilists  still  cling  to  the  antiquated  method  of  lever -steering. 
Many  accidents,  only  a  small  part  of  which  get  into  the  newspapers,  have  been 
the  result.  That  there  have  not  been  as  many  as  there  were  in  France  before 
the  adoption  of  the  new  method  is  due  to  the  fact  that  there  is  no  fast  running 
in  this  country,  practically  speaking,  as  compared  to  that  done  in  France. 

Placing  of  the  Motor. — One  of  the  most  important  considerations, 
in  the  matter  of  convenience,  running  ability,  and  safety,  is  the  situation 
of  the  motor.  Here,  again,  the  French  method  is  greatly  superior  to  ours. 
The  French  makers  place  the  motor  over  the  front  axle,  having  found  by 
experimentation  that  this  position  gives  the  best  results.  Thus  free  access  is 
allowed  to  the  engine  and  less  room  is  occupied  than  when  the  motor  is  placed 
under  the  seat.      The  gearing  for  the  different  speeds  is  then  disposed  under  the 


Charles  R.  Flint. 


Automobiles    tS  Automobiling 


259 


floor  behind  the  engine,  leaving  the  whole  back  of  the  machine  free,  so  that  any 
style,  whether  spider  phaeton,  brougham,  or  other  form  of  body,  may  be  put 
on.  The  engine's  weight  is  a  very  considerable  part  of  the  total  weight  of  the 
vehicle.  Placed  over  the  front  axle,  it  is  in  the  best  position  to  secure  steadi- 
ness and  to  act  in  a  way  as  ballast.  In 
this  country  we  place  the  motor  in  the 
back  of  the  vehicle — why,  I  don't  know, 
nor  do  I  believe  that  anybody  else 
knows.  It  is  another  of  the  mysteries 
of  American  automobile -building.  In 
one  of  our  machines  a  swift  and  sharp 
turn  whips  the  main  weight,  which  is 
over  the  rear  axle,  around  in  the  most 
dangerous  way,  so  that  the  wheels  are 
likely  to  slip  and  the  whole  vehicle  go 
over. 

The  Chain. — Here  we  connect 
the  driving-chain  with  the  middle  of 
the  hind  axle,  a  method  which  necessi- 
tates a  split  axle.  In  France  they  use  a 
countershaft  with  a  sprocket  on  each 
end,  these  sprockets  being  connected  by 
chains  with  sprockets  on  each  hind 
wheel,  thereby  permitting  the  use  of  a 

solid  axle  as  in  an  ordinary  carriage  and  adding  to  the  strength  of  construction. 
The  French  method  of  hanging  the  body  of  the  vehicle  on  the  springs  is  superior 
to  ours  as  giving  more  points  of  contact  and  thereby  distributing  the  weight. 

Lubrication. — Lubrication  by  the  French  method  is  mostly  automatic. 
There  is  one  central  point  feeding  to  all  the  different  points  of  the  engine. 
Grease-cups  are  used  in  many  places  in  preference  to  oil.  When  a  part  becomes 
overheated  the  grease  melts,  flows  in,  lubricates,  and  thereby  puts  an  end  to  the 
friction  which  caused  the  heat.  That  is,  wherever  lubrication  is  most  needed  it 
is  supplied  by  a  process  which  is  practically  automatic.  In  the  French  machines 
when  the  automobile  stops,  the  oil-feeding  stops,  and  there  is  no  waste  during 
halts.  In  an  American  machine  oil-cups  are  used  generally.  Hence  if  you  stop 
for  any  purpose,  your  cups  keep  right  on  unremittingly  supplying  oil  where  it 
is  not  needed,  and  your  good  lubricating  material  besprinkles  the  wayside  grass. 
Incidentally  this  doesn't  do  the  grass  a  bit  of  good. 

The  Automobile  as  a  Racing  Machine. — Racing  automobiles  are  all 
specially  made.     They  are  of  very  high  power,  extreme  lightness,  and  constructed 


Charles  R.   Otts. 


26o 


Automobiles    (S  Automobiling 


of  the  finest  materials.  Of  course  they  are  correspondingly  expensive,  but  they 
are  essential  if  one  is  going  to  do  any  kind  of  racing.  To  race  in  an  ordinary 
road  machine  is  simply  to  tempt  fate  and  the  undertaker.  An  auto-car  in  which 
one  trusts  himself  at  continued  high  speeds  should  be  able  to  withstand  terrific 

strain  and  the  severest  and  suddenest  of 
shocks.  Even  then  automobile  -  racing 
is  by  no  means  a  safe  sport  ;  there  is 
a  decided  element  of  risk  in  it  always, 
largely  due  to  the  inevitable  uncertainties 
of  roadway  travel.  Over  here  various 
kinds  of  power  are  used  in  racing,  but  in 
France  all  the  racing  machines  are  of 
the  gasoline  type,  and  the  records  made 
there  are  better  than  our  American  rec- 
ords. Among  the  best  -  known  makers 
of  large  cars  in  France  are  Panhard  & 
Levasseur,  Mars,  and  Peugeot.  Of  the 
smaller  cars  the  best-known  makes  are 
those  of  De  Dion  &  Bouton,  Clement, 
Renault,  and  Peugeot.  The  French  rac- 
ing machines  make  forty  or  forty-five 
miles  an  hour  and  keep  it  up  for  some 
time.  That  is  not  on  a  carefully  pre- 
pared track  either,  but  on  a  regular  turn- 
pike with  its  ups  and  downs.  This  means,  oi  course,  that  at  times  the  speed 
of  the  car  may  go  as  high  as  sixty  miles  an  hour  or  thereabouts.  For  long  dis- 
tances naturally  the  rate  is  not  nearly  so  high.  The  best  record  thus  far  is  eight 
hundred  and  ninety-six  in  263^  hours,  made  in  a  French  machine  driven  by 
gasoline.  In  this  country  such  a  record  would  be  impossible  in  road  travel,  as 
we  have  no  such  stretches  of  road  as  they  have  in  France. 

Almost  any  sort  of  apparel  will  do  for  ordinary  travel  in  an  automobile, 
but  for  racing  one  must  be  specially  arrayed.  The  dress  is  not  ornamental  but 
it  is  effective.  A  long  leather  coat  with  very  steadfast  buttons  and  tight  leather 
trousers  make  up  the  major  portion  of  it.  Boots  into  which  the  trousers  can 
be  tucked  are  usually  worn.  A  leather  cap  with  a  visor  protects  the  head,  and 
over  the  face  is  worn  a  mask  with  glass  eye-holes.  Thus  arrayed  the  automo- 
bilist  looks  like  a  diver  or  a  demon  or  a  goblin,  or  whatever  you  please;  at  any 
rate  he  is  not  an  object  to  inspire  confidence  at  first  sight,  and  the  country  chil- 
dren in  France  used  to  flee  with  howls  of  terror  or  cower  by  the  roadside  in 
the  depths  of  dismay  upon   the  appearance   of  one   of   these  apparitions.      Even 


Samuel  T.  Davis,  Jr. 


Automobiles    tS  Automohiling 


261 


the  older  peasants  at  first  exhibited  signs  of  panic,  but  now  everyone  for  leagues 
around  Paris  has  become  used  to  the  cars  and  their  strangely  clad  drivers. 

Primarily  this  dress  serves  to  keep  out  the  dust,  which,  when  one  is  travel- 
ling at  forty  miles  an  hour,  goes  through  the  ordinary  clothing  of  civilization 
as   if  it   were   of  mosquito-netting,    and 

embeds  itself   in  the  skin  to  such  an  ex-  -- —        ^-~ 

tent  that  one  can  hardly  get  clean  again 
without  almost  skinning  himself.  Then, 
too,  insects  are  to  be  considered.  To 
meet  a  beetle  when  you  are  proceeding 
at  the  rate  of  nearly  a  mile  a  minute  is 
doubtless  bad  for  the  beetle,  but  you 
don't  consider  that  fact  as  mitigating 
your  own  feelings  when  you  regard  the 
bump  or  raw  spot  which  you  discover 
upon  removing  the  remains  from  your 
unprotected  features.  Worse  still  if  it 
chances  to  be  a  bee  that  you  encounter. 
I  know  a  man  who  "  met  up  "  with  what 
could  just  be  identified  as  a  hornet  af- 
ter the  accident  while  indulging  in  a 
brush  on  the  road  with  a  fellow-chauf- 
feur, and  that  man  didn't  have  any  left 
eye  to  speak  of  for  two  weeks  after  the 
chance  meeting.  With  a  leather  outfit  one  is  well  protected  against  such  mis- 
haps as  this.  But  if  collisions  with  insects  are  inevitable,  it  might  at  least  be 
expected  of  dogs  that  they  wouJd  keep  out  of  the  way  of  the  speeding  automo- 
biles. They  don't  in  France.  French  dogs  are  the  most  peculiar  acting  animals 
I  have  ever  encountered  anywhere.  They  are  blase  beyond  description,  too  blase 
to  move  when  they  see  anything  coming.  Moreover,  they  own  the  roads,  or  at 
least  so  they  conceive.  If  they  don't  happen  to  be  asleep  in  the  middle  of  the 
way,  as  they  usually  are,  they  rush  madly  out  open-mouthed  to  challenge  the 
jncoming  vehicle.  Invariably  they  get  directly  in  the  path  of  destruction. 
When  they  realize  their  peril,  if  they  realize  it  at  all  (which  I  doubt,  as  they 
seem  to  go  on  the  principle  that  everything  must  turn  out  for  them),  it  is  too 
late.  No  French  chauffeur  in  the  least  minds  running  over  a  dog.  When  I  first 
went  to  France  and  took  up  speeding  on  their  splendid  roads  I  had  humanita- 
rian principles  in  regard  to  live-stock  ;  after  a  time  I  learned  not  to  turn  out  for 
anything  less  than  a  cow,  and  then  only  from  motives  of  self-preservation.  I 
used  to  dodge  dogs  and  even  chickens.      It  is  a  highly  dangerous  practice.      Sud- 


Le  Droict  Langdon  Barber. 


262 


Automobiles    tS  Automobiling 


den  turns  are  very  likely  to  throw  the  vehicle  off  its  balance  and  overturn  it, 
and  nothing  short  of  the  suddenest  kind  of  a  sudden  turn  will  save  a  French 
dog  once  he  has  resolved  to  stop  an  automobile.  My  mechanic  who  always 
went  along  with  me  in  races  cured  me  of  the  dodging  habit.  One  day  in  trying 
to  avoid  a  dog  whom  I  encountered  in  a  road  race  I  swerved  so  sharply  that  we 

slid  along  on  a  wheel  and  a  half  tor  a 
longer  time  than  I  care  to  remember, 
while  I  held  my  breath  industriously  and 
the  faithful  mechanic  stiffened  out  like 
a  rod  in  an  effort  to  make  himself  heavy 
on  the  upper  side  of  the  careening  ma- 
chine. When  we  came  to  the  finish  of 
the  race  he  emerged  from  his  mask  very 
white  and  hollow-eyed. 

"  Pardon,  Monsieur,"  he  began,  and 
paused  in  some  embarrassment. 

"Well,  goon.     What  is  it  ?"  I  said, 
encouragingly. 

"  If  Monsieur  would  kindly  kill  the 
next  dog." 

"Kill   the   next  dog?"    I  repeated, 
somewhat  at  a  loss. 

"  Yes,   Monsieur.      To  dodge    it    is 
to  do  once,  twice,  perhaps  a  third  time. 

But  the  next  time "       He   made  an 

eloquent  gesture,  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  concluded,  "  I  have  a  wife  and 
three  children." 

It  was  enough.  In  the  next  race  I  ran  over  three  dogs  and  uncounted 
poultry.  It  is  better,  as  my  mechanic  implied  in  his  little  plea,  to  destroy  many 
animals  than  to  figure  in  the  mortuary  records  of  automobiling.  The  destruc- 
tion of  animals,  by  the  way,  furnishes  another  reason  for  the  wearing  of  a 
leathern  uniform  when  travelling  at  high  speed.  When  struck,  the  animal  is 
apt  to  scatter  very  unpleasantly.  Not  to  go  into  too  detailed  description,  I  have 
seen  a  racing  car  come  in  from  a  long  contest  fairly  plastered  with  feathers. 

There  is  a  special  insurance  company  in  Paris  for  the  automobiling  public. 
It  insures  the  chauffeur  not  only  against  accident  to  his  own  life  and  limb,  but 
to  the  lives  and  limbs  of  such  persons  as  may  be  so  ill-advised  as  to  get  in  the 
way  of  his  machine.  If  you  break  an  arm  or  leg  while  riding  in  your  automo- 
bile you  get  so  much  from  the  company  ;  if  a  neck,  your  heirs  are  the  benefi- 
ciaries.     Should  the  arm,  leg,  or  neck  pertain  to  some  unfortunate  wayfarer,  you 


George  Isham  Scott. 


Automobiles   iS"  Automobiling 


263 


don't  reap  any  of  the  benefits,  except  in  a  negative  sense.  That  works  in  this 
way:  If  the  injured  person  sues,  or  if  the  family  of  the  deceased  demand  dam- 
ages, the  insurance  company  assumes  all  responsibility  in  respect  to  a  civil  action, 
and  settles  up  the  case.  Criminal  action,  of  course,  cannot  be  insured  against, 
but  criminal  action  in  France  brought  against  a  man  in  a  vehicle  for  damage  to 
a  man  on  foot  is  not  likely  to  amount  to 
much,  whether  the  vehicle  be  an  auto- 
mobile or  a  garbage  cart.  This  insurance 
company  charges  rates  that  would  make 
our  American  companies  turn  green  with 
envy.  Automobile  accidents  are  very 
common  in  and  around  Paris,  and  a  great 
many  of  them  result  fatally.  This  is 
because  the  average  speed  is  high.  Ot 
course,  there  are  regulations  restricting 
speeding,  and  in  the  case  of  the  formal 
races  these  regulations  are  formally  sus- 
pended and  the  roads  patrolled.  But  it 
is  my  observation  that  the  rules  are  not 
much  regarded,  anyway.  The  little  voi- 
turettes  and  tricycles,  which  constitute 
sixty-five  per  cent,  of  all  the  automobiles 
in  France,  dart  around  the  French  capital 
at  a  perilous  rate  of  speed,  and  the  pedes- 
trian keeps  his  head  only  by  lightness  of 

toot  when  he  crosses  a  popular  roadway.  First  in  note  of  the  recent  foreign 
automobile  road  races  is  the  so-called  "International  Cup  Race,"  instituted  by 
James  Gordon  Bennett  and  run  from  Ville  d'Avray  to  Lyons  last  summer.  In- 
ternational the  race  was  not,  except  in  a  very  limited  sense,  as  only  the  United 
States,  Belgium,  and  France  were  represented.  Great  Britain,  Austria,  and  Italy, 
which  were  expected  to  send  representatives,  did  not  make  any  entries,  and  the 
German  representative,  after  protesting  in  vain  that  time  was  not  given  him  to 
get  his  tires  ready,  withdrew.  His  protest  against  the  scant  time  allowed  was 
supported  by  the  Belgian  contestant,  who,  however,  ran  in  the  race,  though  he 
could  not  get  in  readiness  the  machine  which  he  had  especially  constructed  for 
the  event.  The  entries  were  M.  Rene  de  KnyfF,  France;  M.  Jenatzy,  Belgium; 
Mr.  Alexander  Winton,  United  States;  M.  Ferdinand  Charron,  France,  and  M. 
Girardot,  France.  The  distance  was  five  hundred  and  sixty-six  kilometres,  or 
about  three  hundred  and  fifty-one  miles. 

All    the    contestants    started   in   good   order,  but  shortly  after   the  start   the 


7.  Wesley  AUhon. 


264 


Automobiles    iS  Automobiling 


affair  began  to  assume  the  aspect  of  a  chapter  of  accidents.  Mr.  Winton  was 
the  first  victim.  As  stated  before,  he  ran  into  a  roadside  bank  and  bent  his 
axle.  This  was  near  Chateaudun,  when  about  seventy  miles  of  the  race  had 
been  run.  At  about  the  same  time  M.  de  Knyff  was  seen  to  be  out  of  the  run- 
ning, he  having  stripped  the  teeth  on  his 
fourth  speed,  though  he  did  not  formally 
withdraw  until  after  reaching  Gien, 
nearly  seventy  miles  farther.  Three 
minutes  after  his  arrival  at  Orleans,  the 
principal  station  next  before  Gien,  M. 
Jenatzy  had  limped  in  with  his  tires 
punctured  in  several  places.  These  mis- 
haps were  such  as  are  to  be  expected  in 
any  race,  but  the  accident  that  put  M. 
Girardot  practically  out  of  the  running 
tor  first  place  was  more  in  the  nature  of 
bad  luck.  Just  as  he  was  leaving  Or- 
leans, seven  minutes  in  advance  of  his 
nearest  competitor,  M.  Charron,  a  horse 
took  offence  at  his  mode  of  locomotion, 
and,  getting  beyond  the  driver's  control, 
stood  upon  his  hind  feet  directly  in  the 
middle  of  the  roadway.  Turning  sharply 
to  avoid  disaster,  M.  Girardot  ran  into 
the  curb,  breaking  a  wheel.  The  next 
hour  he  spent  in  a  wayside  smithy  undergoing  repairs,  after  which  he  pluckily  took 
up  the  race,  though  his  speed  was  sensibly  diminished.  M.  Jenatzy,  who  had 
attempted  to  keep  up  the  fight  notwithstanding  his  wrecked  condition,  burst  both 
front  tires  a  short  way  out  from  Orleans  and  was  definitely  out  of  it.  Only  two 
of  the  contestants  succeeded  in  making  half  the  required  distance  of  three  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  miles  ;  and  they  were  the  two  that  finished.  M.  Charron 
won  in  nine  hours  nine  and  a  half  minutes,  with  M.  Girardot  second  in  ten 
hours  thirty  and  a  half  minutes.  Not  even  the  winner  escaped  scatheless,  his 
axle  having  been  somewhat  bent  in  taking  a  gutter  just  before  reaching  Orleans, 
and  his  pump  having  been  broken  by  running  over  the  ever-present  dog  seven 
miles  from  the  goal.  The  average  speed  of  the  winner  was  38.4  miles  an  hour. 
From  the  large  number  of  accidents  in  this  race  it  is  evident  that  much 
greater  care  in  construction  is  needed.  The  margin  of  stability  must  be  in- 
creased and  parts  should  he  made  stronger,  even  though  lightness  be  sacri- 
ficed.     Duplicate    parts,  too,  should   be    carried    so    tar  as  it  is   possible.      This 


E.   G.  Fabbri. 


Automobiles    iS  Automobiling 


265 


race  demonstrated  that  automohile  travel  at  express  speed  cannot  be  expected 
to  rival  railroad  travel  under  present  conditions.  To  he  sure  the  express-train 
rate  of  speed  hetween  Paris  and  Lyons  was  exceeded  in  this  race,  but  no  pas- 
senger wants  to  travel  by  a  method  which  involves  accident  in  one  hundred  per 
cent,  of  the  cases,  and  failure  to  finish 
in  sixty  per  cent.  That  was  the  result 
in  the  International  Cup  Race.  The 
superiority  of  the  French  machine  in 
speed  and  strength  was  plainly  evidenced 
in  this  contest. 

Road  racing  has  not  yet  become  by 
any  means  so  common  in  this  country 
as  abroad,  but  enough  has  been  done  here 
to  bring  out  many  points  of  interest  and 
value.  One  is  that  the  character  of  our 
roads  must  be  improved  or  our  machines 
more  stoutly  built  before  racing  can  he 
carried  on  with  a  prospect  of  a  good 
number  ot  vehicles  reaching  the  finish, 
if  the  contest  is  for  a  considerable  length. 
This  was  shown  in  the  New  York-Phila- 
delphia Road  Race,  where  the  break- 
downs were  many.  A  gasoline  machine 
won  this  race.  The  strong  head-wind 
spoiled  the  steam   machine's  chances  by 

blowing  out  the  fires,  and  the  supposedly  fastest  electric  automobile  broke  down 
in  the  first  stage,  as  noted  elsewhere.  However,  the  race  showed,  what  many 
people  had  doubted,  that  auto-cars  could  successfully  make  long  runs.  At  the 
recent  races  at  Aquidneck  Park,  Newport,  the  conditions  were  unfortunate,  not- 
withstanding which  Mr.  W.  K.  Vanderbilt,  Jr.,  established  a  new  five-mile  record 
for  America,  running  on  a  half-mile  track.  His  car  was  the  German  Daimler. 
A  little  later  the  Guttenberg  races  were  run  on  the  one-mile  trotting  track.  The 
track  was  in  fine  condition,  but  the  turns  were  sharp  and  dangerous.  I  won  the 
five-mile  race  in  my  twenty-four  horse-power  Panhard,  beating  my  only  com- 
petitor, David  Wolfe  Bishop,  who  ran  a  twelve  horse-power  Panhard,  by  about 
half  a  mile.  This  race  established  a  new  five-mile  American  record,  Mr. 
Vanderbilt's  record  of  eight  minutes  and  fifty-three  seconds  being  lowered  to 
seven  minutes  and  forty-two  seconds.  His  race,  however,  was  on  a  half-mile 
track,  which  is  something  of  a  disadvantage.  In  the  open  championship  ten- 
mile  race  at  Guttenberg  there  were  four  entries.      The  steam  machine  got  off 


George  F.   Chamberlin. 


266 


Automobiles    tS  Automobiling 


first,  but  after  a  couple  of  revolutions  broke  its  chain.  Next  came  the  electric 
car,  which  broke  down  after  going  a  mile.  Mr.  Bishop's  car  and  mine  were 
the  only  ones  to  finish,  my  car  coming  in  about  seven-eighths  of  a  mile  in  front, 
establishing  a  new  American  ten-mile  record  of  fifteen  minutes  and  ten  seconds. 
The  best  mile  was  done  in  one  minute  twenty-seven  and  three-fifth  seconds,  or 
at  the  rate  of  forty-one  miles  an  hour.  Full  speed  at  any  time  was  imprac- 
ticable because  of  the  sharpness  of  the  turns. 

At  the  Trenton  races  in  the  following  week  I  did  not  use  my  French  ma- 
chine, but  raced  in  a  VVinton.  The  track,  which  was  a  half-mile  course,  was 
in  even  better  condition  than  the  Guttenberg  track  ;  the  turns  were  not  so 
sharp  and  a  three-foot  banking  at  the  curves  obviated  much  of  the  danger.  In 
the  five-mile  race  a  steam-carriage  of  very  complicated  design  and  run  at  a  very 
high  pressure  won  by  a  few  seconds,  my  car  being  second.  In  the  ten-mile  race 
the  result  was  about  the  same. 

Road  Racing  ijs.  Small  Tracks. — Road  racing  is  without  doubt  the 
strongest  influence  for  the  practical  development  o'i  the  automobile.  Our  roads 
here,  as  I  have  said,  are  not  so  well  suited  to  racing  as  are  the  French  roads. 
They  are  more  uneven  and  are  not  as  well  kept.  Nevertheless  American  cars 
have  got  to  travel  on  American  roads,  and  the  only  way  to  develop  a  machine 
that  is  fit  to  cope  with  conditions  here  is  to  find  out  the  weaknesses  of  our  pres- 
ent machines  by  actual  trial.  The  best  form  of  trial  is  by  competition  over 
representative  roads.  Long  Island  furnishes  perhaps  the  easiest  reading  tor 
autos  for  any  long  stretch,  but  for  the  very  reason  of  its  flatness  it  is  not  fairly 
representative  of  American  turnpikes.  The  road  race  on  the  Merrick  Road  was 
successful  in  so  far  as  it  went,  but  it  brought  out  a  limited  class  of  machines  and 
did  not  constitute  a  trial  under  a  sufficient  variety  of  conditions. 

Road  racing  should  be  divided  into  classes,  for  horse-power  and  type.  Thus 
far  road  racing  has  done  more  good  for  automobiling  than  any  other  agency. 
It  has  shown  the  facts  that  would  never  appear  in  theoretical  treatises,  and  it 
has  brought  out  the  weak  points  that  only  a  hard  race  can  bring  out.  There 
has  been  a  great  deal  of  opposition  in  this  country  to  road  racing  because  of  the 
high  speeds  developed,  and  some  adverse  legislation  has  developed  from  this 
opposition.  In  my  opinion  this  feeling  will  persist  for  a  number  of  years  and 
still  further  restrictions  may  be  thrown  around  the  sport.  But  I  trust  that  in 
the  end,  when  the  matter  is  more  thoroughly  and  generally  understood,  these 
vexatious  ordinances  will  be  revoked  and  the  automobile  will  have  at  least  as 
many  rights  as  the  horse,  who  still  regards  it  with  unfeigned  alarm  and  ineradi- 
cable enmity. 

At  the  present  time  a  number  of  State  fairs  are  making  automobile  races 
one  of  their  features.     The  races  will  be  run  mostly  on  half-mile  tracks.      This, 


Automobiles    tS  Automobiling 


26J 


I  believe,  will  eventually  do  the  automobile  more  harm  than  good  in  the  public 
estimation.  It  gives  the  public  a  false  idea  as  to  the  properties  and  potentialities 
of  the  automobile,  and  to  befool  the  public  in  respect  to  an  object  of  public 
use  never  pays  in  the  long  run.  Track  racing  can  never  show  up  the  weak 
points  of  the  machines.  They  race  un- 
der ideal  conditions  and  for  short  dis- 
tances. The  roadway  is  specially  and 
carefully  prepared  ;  there  are  no  devious 
turns  or  unsuspected  irregularities  to  try 
the  nerve  of  the  driver  and  the  stability 
of  his  machine,  and  the  way  is  kept  free 
of  the  ill-fated  dog  and  the  panic-stricken 
and  panic-inspiring  horse.  The  applaud- 
ing populace  sees  the  machine  sweeping 
gracefully  and  evenly  onward,  and  con- 
cludes that  all  automobiling  is  like  this  ; 
as  easy  as  riding  a  bicycle  and  without 
the  necessary  exertion  of  that  universal 
sport.  But  it  is  the  changing  of  speed, 
the  varying  conditions  of  the  open  road, 
and  the  machine's  endurance  on  long 
trial  that  are  the  true  tests,  and  of  these 
the  admiring  populace  from  its  grand- 
stand sees  nothing  in  a  track  race.  The 
manufacturer  who  turns  out  a  light 
racing-machine  that  is  successful  in  track 
work,  and  advertises  what  it  has  accom- 
plished, and  sells  his  output  on  that  basis,  will  have  many  disappointed  customers 
who  will  want  to  know  things  that  it  will  embarrass  him  to  tell  them,  princi- 
pally why  their  cars  cannot  do  in  everyday  use  what  the  show  machine  has  done 
so  beautifully  on  the  smooth  track. 

Automobile  organizations  existed  in  half  a  dozen  countries  of  Europe  when, 
in  May,  1899,  ^  number  of  devotees  of  the  sport  set  about  bringing  to  pass  an 
American  automobile  association  which  should  include  all  persons  of  suitable 
character  who  were  personally  interested  in  the  advancement  of  automobiling. 
To  this  end  a  circular  was  published  abroad  through  the  medium  of  the  news- 
papers, signed  by  George  F.  Chamberlin  and  Whitney  Lyon.  It  set  forth  the 
advantages  of  a  permanent  organization  and  "  the  need  of  a  common  centre 
where  owners  of  self-propelling  vehicles  may  meet,  exchange  views,  relate  expe- 
riences,  and  advance  the   automobile  sport  in   the   United   States."      Responses 


Carleton  Macy. 


268  Automobiles    iS  Automohiling 

were  ntany  and  prompt,  and  less  than  a  fortnight  later  a  meeting  was  held  in 
the  Waldorf-Astoria  Hotel,  New  York  City,  at  which  the  Automobile  Club  of 
America  was  formally  organized.  On  August  i6th  oi  that  year  the  club  was 
incorporated  with  one  hundred  charter  members,  including  many  of  the  most 
prominent  men  of  New  York.  Two  months  later  the  first  election  was  held  and 
the  following  officers  chosen:  President,  General  Avery  D.  Andrews;  Vice-Pres- 
ident, George  F.  Chamberlin ;  Secretary,  Captain  Homer  W.  Hedge  ;  Treasurer, 
Walter  E.  Frew;  Directors,  V.  Everitt  Macy,  Dr.  F.  C.  Hollister,  Winslow 
E.  Buzby,  Whitney  Lyon,  William  H.  Hall,  and  General  George  Moore  Smith. 
Pleasant  quarters  were  secured  at  the  Waldorf-Astoria,  where  the  club  has  since 
had  its  rooms.  The  objects  of  the  organization,  besides  that  of  bringing  together 
followers  of  the  sport,  are  to  secure  proper  regulations  tor  the  use  ot  automobiles 
in  citv  and  country,  obtain,  it  possible,  favorable  national  legislation  on  the  sub- 
ject, arrange  contests  and  races,  promote  the  good-roads  movement,  entertain 
automohiling  visitors  from  European  organizations,  act  as  the  American  repre- 
sentative of  the  sport,  and  in  general  promote  and  advance  in  every  possible  way 
the  proper  use  ot  automobiles  in  this  country. 

The  club's  library  includes  practically  every  treatise  and  article  on  the 
subject  of  automohiling  that  has  been  published  in  the  English  language,  as  well 
as  many  in  other  languages,  and  is  the  most  complete  library  on  the  subject  in 
the  country. 

A  month  before  the  incorporation  of  the  new  club  the  Automobile  Club 
of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  formally  recognized  the  American  organization, 
exchanged  courtesies,  and  immediately  upon  the  incorporation  entered  into  re- 
ciprocal relations  with  it.  Shortly  afterward  the  Automobile-Club  de  France, 
which  is  the  original  organization  devoted  to  the  sport,  and  is  the  most  promi- 
nent and  conservative  automobile  organization  in  existence,  similarly  recognized 
the  American  association.  Thus  the  American  club  is  constituted  the  repre- 
sentative in  this  country  ot  the  two  leading  foreign  clubs.  Every  proposition 
made  by  any  individual  in  this  country  to  these  foreign  clubs  must  be  made 
through  the  Automobile  Club  ot  America;  otherwise  it  will  not  be  recognized. 
All  foreign  challenges  to  automobilists  in  this  country  come  through  themedium 
of  the  foreign  clubs  to  the  American  organization. 

Locally  the  club  has  been  highly  successful  from  the  start.  Its  first  parade, 
on  November  4,  1899,  brought  out  about  forty  vehicles,  and  was  witnessed  by 
large  crowds  all  along  the  route.  Thereafter  auto-carriages  were  much  more 
frequently  seen  upon  the  streets  than  before.  Certain  officials,  however,  looked 
upon  them  askance,  and  the  Park  Commissioners  of  the  Borough  of  Manhattan 
put  them  under  the  ban.  Two  of  the  club  members  who  undertook  to  ride  in 
Central    Park  were  promptly  arrested   at    the  instance   of  a   Commissioner   and 


Automobiles    iS  Automobiling 


26g 


taken  to  the  magistrate's  court,  where  the  complainant  was  invited  to  specify 
what  law  they  had  violated.  As  he  could  not  do  so  they  were  immediately  dis- 
charged. Then  the  Park  Commission  passed  regulations  prohibiting  automo- 
biles from  entering  Central  Park  except  by  virtue  of  a  special  permit.  In  the 
other  boroughs  of  New  York  there  was 
no  such  difficulty.  Lectures  and  discus- 
sions are  held  in  the  club-rooms  at  in- 
tervals. At  the  present  writing  the  club 
is  arranging  for  an  automobile  exhibition 
at  Madison  Square  Garden,  which,  it  is 
confidently  predicted,  will  surpass  any- 
thing of  the  kind  in  the  history  of  the 
sport.  From  time  to  time  club  tours 
are  mapped  out  and  taken  by  numbers 
of  the  members,  some  of  the  enthusiasts 
venturing  undismayed  in  the  teeth  of 
winter  gales. 

The  French  Club. — As  there  are 
more  people  in  France  interested  in  the 
subject  of  automobiles  than  in  any  other 
country,  it  is  but  natural  that  France 
should  have  the  largest  and  most  impor- 
tant automobile  club.  From  its  incep- 
tion the  Automobile-Club  de  France  has 
been  an  institution  of  the  greatest  promi- 
nence in  Paris.  Its  rooms  in  the  Place 
de  la  Concorde  are  very  handsome,  and  its 

membership  of  three  thousand  includes  most  of  the  men  of  social  status  in  the 
French  capital.  In  fact,  the  critics  of  the  organization  attack  it  on  the  ground 
that  it  makes  social  position  its  chief  consideration,  instead  oi  the  welfare  of  the 
sport,  and  that  it  is  trying  to  rival  the  ultra-swagger  Jockey  Club  in  exclusiveness 
and  tone.  Among  many  of  the  members  there  grew  up  a  feeling  that  more  atten- 
tion should  be  paid  to  racing  and  other  forms  of  developing  the  mechanical  and 
practical  side  of  the  sport.  When,  at  one  of  the  meetings  it  was  announced  that 
only  about  one-seventieth  of  the  yearly  budget  would  be  devoted  to  racing  matters, 
there  was  a  revolt.  This  quickly  crystallized  into  a  secession,  many  of  the  mem- 
bers resigning  to  form  the  Moto-Club,  which  is  already  a  powerful  organization. 
This  is  professedly  democratic  in  character  and  constitutes  as  its  chief  require- 
ment for  membership  that  the  candidate  shall  be  actually  interested  in  automo- 
biling.     It  is  conducted  unpretentiously,  and  among   the   members   of  the  older 


Dave  H.  Morris. 


2yo  Automobiles   iS  Automobiling 

organization  is  jokingly  known  as  "1" Automobile-Club  des  Pauvres."  Many 
members  of  the  original  club,  however,  have  joined  the  new  without  resigning 
from  the  old,  and  it  is  likely  that,  whereas  it  at  first  appeared  that  the  two  or- 
o-anizations  would  be  on  a  footing  of  bitter  rivalry,  they  will  eventually  come  to 
work  side  by  side  for  the  advancement  of  the  cause  which  is  the  raison  d'etre 
of  both.  The  Moto-Club  devotes  a  great  part  of  its  attention  to  racing  matters 
and  exhibits,  offering  handsome  prizes  for  contests.  It  also  looks  out  for  the 
interests  of  its  members,  particularly  in  a  legal  sense,  providing  counsel  for  their 
defence  when  arrested  for  violation  of  road  regulations  or  for  accidents  to  pedes- 
trians or  to  other  vehicles.  As  at  present  constituted,  one  of  these  clubs  is  the 
complement  of  the  other.  There  is  room  for  both  to  exist  and  do  good  work 
in  Paris. 

Social  Aspects. — Socially  the  automobile  has  been  made  much  of  in  this 
country.  Besides  the  runs  of  the  Automobile  Club,  which  partook  of  the  nature 
of  social  events,  there  have  been  a  number  of  fetes  with  the  auto-car  as  the  cen- 
tral figure.  Of  these,  the  most  notable  is  the  great  automobile  fete  at  Newport 
in  September,  1899.  Many  of  the  leading  families  in  the  famous  summer-resort 
were  represented  and  the  affair  was  one  of  the  great  events  of  the  season.  Never 
before  or  since,  probably,  has  the  automobile  been  so  bespangled  and  decorated. 
Field  and  garden  were  ransacked  for  floral  decorations  to  make  of  the  vehicles 
moving  bowers  of  fragrance  and  color.  One  machine  was  preceded  by  a  huge 
butterfly,  which,  with  outstretched  wings,  seemed  to  be  drawing  the  carriage  be- 
hind it  in  its  airy  flight.  Over  others  hovered  gulls  and  other  birds.  More 
than  a  score  of  entries  competed  for  the  prize  offered  for  the  most  artistic  and 
beautiful  turn-out.  This  went  to  Mrs.  Herman  Oelrichs,  who  drove  a  car  dec- 
orated with  white  and  pink  hydrangeas  beneath  crossed  arches  of  field  daisies, 
and,  above,  twelve  white  doves  on  yellow  ribbons,  with  streamers  of  pink  and 
white  satin.  Other  competitors  whose  exhibits  attracted  much  notice  were  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  O.  H.  P.  Belmont,  W.  K.  Vanderbilt,  Jr.,  Mrs.  Stuyvesant  Fish,  Miss 
Daisy  Post,  and  Miss  Greta  Pomeroy.  Of  course  the  fete  brought  out  no  new 
points  in  automobiling;  that  was  not  its  object.  It  was  of  value  to  the  sport, 
however,  in  arousing  interest  among  the  class  whose  interest,  backed"  by  their 
wealth,  may  do  much  for  the  development  of  the  automobile  movement. 

Prejudices  against  Autos. — That  prejudices  do  exist  among  a  very  large 
proportion  of  the  public  in  respect  to  the  automobile,  is  undeniable.  Nor  can 
I  see  that  the  feeling  is  diminishing.  The  noise  and  odor  are  against  the  ma- 
chine. Owners  of  horses  fear  and  dislike  it.  In  this  connection  I  want  to  say 
that  many  of  the  accidents  arising  from  horses  being  frightened  are  directly 
traceable  to  poor  judgment  on  the  part  of  the  driver.  I  have  seen  drivers  staring 
open-mouthed  at  an    approaching  automobile  and  leaving  the  reins  slack  while 


Automobiles    iS  Automobiling 


2^1 


the  horse  was  becoming  nervous.  Then,  when  the  animal  started  to  boh,  they 
had,  of  course,  no  control  over  him.  Nevertheless,  after  the  smash-up  they 
would  invariably  emit  a  shriek  of  protest  against  the  whole  tribe  of  self-propell- 
ing vehicles.  Farmers,  as  a  rule,  are  not  inimical  to  the  horseless  vehicle  ;  they 
do  not  care  one  way  or  the  other.  If  any- 
thing, they  rather  like  to  see  the  car  go 
whizzing  by.  It  is  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
cities  and  large  towns  that  most  of  the 
prejudice  is  encountered.  In  time,  as  the 
use  of  the  automobile  becomes  more  com- 
mon and  wide-spread,  I  believe  this  antip- 
athy will  pass  gradually  away.  The  same 
antipathy,  it  must  be  remembered,  was  felt 
against  the  locomotive  and  the  steamboat. 

In  conclusion,  it  has  been  suggested 
that  I  mention  some  points  gathered  in  my 
experience  as  a  worker  on  and  an  owner 
and  operator  of  automobiles,  for  the  guid- 
ance of  the  inexperienced  automobilist  and 
of  him  who  contemplates  becoming  an 
automobilist.  My  first  word  is  to  the  lat- 
ter. It  is  Punch's  advice  again — within 
limitations.  Don't,  unless  you  feel  that 
you  can  spend  time  and  trouble,  as  well  as 
money  on  the  sport.  Don't  buy  an  auto- 
mobile with  the  idea  that  it  will  take  care 
of  itself.  It  won't.  Constant  care  is  nec- 
essary if  you  are  to  get  any  satisfactory  results.  Don't,  if  you  are  a  man  of  mod- 
erate means,  deceive  yourself  into  believing  that  an  automobile  is  as  easy  and 
cheap  to  keep  as  a  horse,  and  that  you  will  get  as  much  service  out  of  it.  The 
man  who  has  just  about  enough  income  to  permit  of  his  keeping  a  horse 
without  straining  his  resources,  and  who  gives  up  the  animal  in  order  to  get 
an  automobile,  is  making  a  mistake.  Until  he  has  thoroughly  mastered  his  ma- 
chine he  will  have  bills  for  repairs  that  will  rack  him  with  dismay,  and  even 
after  he  has  pretty  well  learned  his  new  pet,  the  bill  at  the  month's  end  will 
every  now  and  then  fall  on  him  with  a  dismal  thud.  Then,  to  operate  a 
car  with  any  degree  of  comfort  one  should  have  a  mechanic.  Now  this  may 
strike  some  people  like  saying  that  a  man  can't  live  without  a  valet.  That 
is  because  they  do  not  know  anything  about  automobiles.  In  the  first  place,  the 
machine  ought  to  be  thoroughly  cleaned    every  time   it    comes  in    from   a  run. 


J.  M.   Cehallos. 


2^2 


Automobiles   tS  Automohiling 


How  is  a  business  or  professional  man  going  to  find  time  to  do  that  ?  When 
you  first  get  your  machine  it  is  great  fun  to  tinker  with  it  and  correct  its  Uttle 
eccentricities.  But  after  a  time  this  gets  decidedly  tiresome,  and  the  chances 
are  that  the  man  who  has  not  a  mechanic  will  soon  sell  his  machine  because  he 

will  find  he  has  not  time  to  keep  it  in  con- 
dition. At  present  the  American  automo- 
bile is  suited  only  to  the  man  who  can  afford 
to  spend  time  and  money  on  it.  As  a 
source  of  pleasure  it  is  not  likely  to  take 
the  place  ot  the  horse  with  the  general 
public  of  the  fairly  prosperous  classes. 

Now,  to  pass  on  to  the  man  who  has 
just  bought  his  automobile  and  is  contem- 
plating it  with  a  mixture  of  pride,  delight, 
and  uncertainty  as  to  the  exact  nature  of 
the  beast.  Probably  some  time  will  have 
elapsed  before  he  will  have  found  out  this 
last.  As  with  most  practical  matters  that 
one  has  to  learn,  actual  personal  experience 
is  the  only  efficient  teacher.  In  some  re- 
spects, however,  a  vicarious  experience  may 
stand  the  beginner  in  good  stead.  The  fol- 
lowing simple  bits  of  advice  will,  I  believe, 
be  approved  by  every  experienced  automo- 
bilist.  In  learning,  sit  in  the  driver's  place 
and  have  your  instructor  beside  you  to  tell 
you  all  about  the  running  of  the  machine. 
Learn  it  all,  down  to  the  smallest  detail.  After  you  think  you  have  learned  it 
all  make  up  your  mind  that  you  have  not.  Get  a  master  of  the  particular  kind  of 
machine  you  have,  to  put  you  through  a  rigid  examination,  and  you  will  find  out 
how  much  there  is  that  you  do  not  know  and  that  you  ought  to  know.  Study 
the  engine  thoroughly.  That  is  the  important  thing.  Find  out  not  only  what 
effect  every  manipulation  of  the  levers  or  gauges  or  cocks  has,  but  why  it  has 
that  effect.  That  will  take  time  unless  you  chance  to  be  a  practical  machinist, 
but  it  will  pay. 

When  you  come  to  practise,  do  not  begin  in  the  city.  There  are  too  many 
objects,  animate  and  inanimate,  to  run  into.  Start  in  in  the  seclusion  of  some 
country  road,  the  more  remote  from  the  centres  of  traffic  the  better.  After  you 
have  come  to  do  pretty  well  in  that  environment,  tackle  a  village.  This  is  not  as 
tame  as  it  sounds.      The  agile  and  eccentric  village  nag  will  give  you  plenty  of 


S.  S.   JFheeler. 


Automobiles   iS  Automobiling 


273 


.Si-H>fi"i5^:S-~* 


experience  in  coping  with  the  unexpected.  When  you  have  familiarized  your- 
self with  the  gutters  of  the  countryside  and  have  been  chased  by  obstreperous 
steeds  up  on  village  sidewalks,  yourself  pursuing  terror-stricken  residents  into 
the  refuge  of  the  nearest  stores,  and  have  reached  the  point  where  you  can 
endure  all  these  exigencies  with  an  unruffled 
mind,  you  may  venture  upon  the  city  thor- 
oughfare (having  previously,  in  case  you  are 
operating  a  steam  machine,  passed  the  re- 
quired examination  and  secured  a  license 
wherewith  to  satisfy  inquiring  policemen), 
where  the  ponderous  truck  will  conspire 
with  others  of  its  kind  to  pocket  and  crush 
you,  and  the  predatory  butcher-cart  will 
swoop  down  upon  you  from  unexpected 
quarters,  and  every  time  you  turn  a  corner 
the  ubiquitous  bicycle  will  swerve  from  out 
beneath  your  very  wheels  with  the  blood- 
curdling shriek  of  the  rider  running  the 
gamut  of  your  nerves.  When  you  can  suc- 
cessfully thread  Fifth  Avenue  at  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  you  have  passed 
your  apprenticeship  and  can  take  care  of 
yourself  in  ordinary  circumstances.  One 
of  the  features  of  automobiling  is,  how- 
ever, the  astonishing  prevalence  of  extra- 
ordinary circumstances.  These  are  chiefly 
related  to  breakage  or  other  wear  and  tear. 

More  things  happen  to  an  auto-car  than  to  a  cat,  and  it  has  not  the  feline 
nine  lives.  In  fact  it  is  one  of  the  most  delicate  creatures  in  the  world,  and 
needs  constant  coddling.  This  brings  me  to  my  next  point — always  take  along 
extra  parts.  Go  on  the  principle  that  something  is  going  to  happen  to  your 
machine  before  you  get  back.  This  saves  long  homeward  walks  from  out-of- 
the-way  localities.  Never  start  on  a  trip  of  any  length  without  carefully  over- 
hauling your  machine  and  seeing  that  it  is  in  perfect  condition  throughout. 
Above  all,  never  get  rattled  ;  that  is  the  fatal  error.  Do  not  be  too  eager  to 
get  out  of  the"  way.  I  have  known  an  automobilist  try  to  hurdle  a  fence  in 
order  to  avoid  running  down  a  hen.  This  sort  of  thing  does  not  pay.  Con- 
sider your  machine  as  an  individual.  Automobiles  have  their  own  peculiar 
individual  characteristics,  just  as  locomotives  have.  They  have  their  ofi^-days, 
too.      Do  not  think  because  your  machine  does  not  run  well  on  some  particular 


H.  W.  Hedge. 


2'//!.  Automobile i    iS  Automobiling 

occasion,  or  seems  to  move  without  any  spring  or  life,  that  it  is  played  out. 
Strive  to  learn  its  peculiarities;  that  is  the  only  way  to  get  the  best  work  out 
of  it.  The  other  thousand  and  one  things  that  one  comes  to  know  can  be 
acquired  only  by  experience,  otten  costly  experience. 

Many  persons  have  asked  me  my  views  on  the  future  of  the  automobile  ; 
whether  I  think  it  is  coming  to  be  the  universal  vehicle  in  this  country.  I 
should  like  to  say  yes;  I  do  not  say  no.  But  at  the  present  outlook  I  cannot 
see  any  immediate  probability.  Far-reaching  improvements  must  be  made  be- 
fore the  automobile  shall  have  become  a  practical  vehicle  for  the  general  riding 
public.  To-day  its  cost  is  too  great;  not  only  the  cost  of  the  machine  itself, 
but  the  cost  of  its  maintenance  and  operation.  No  motive  power  has  been  found 
that  is  not  without  important,  if  not  vital,  disadvantages.  Stability  and  speed 
have  not  been  successfulljt  combined.  There  is  no  automobile  on  the  American 
market  that  is  even  reasonably  reliable  for  general  roading.  What  I  mean  by 
this  statement  is  that  one  cannot  find  a  machine  in  which  he  can  set  out  for  a 
twenty-five-  or  fifty-mile  ride  over  ordinary  roads  with  a  fair  certainty  that  he 
will  reach  his  destination  on  time  and  in  good  condition.  Danger  is  always 
present  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  ;  not  the  danger  of  railroading,  for  instance, 
which  has  been  reduced  to  a  minimum  by  every  possible  safeguard,  but  an  ap- 
preciable percentage  of  danger.  Leaving  out  of  consideration  the  chances  of 
something  going  wrong  with  the  motor,  there  is  always  the  greater  peril  conse- 
quent upon  some  possible  unsuspected  weakness  of  construction,  or  the  unavoid- 
able bursting  or  puncture  of  tires.  The  breaking  of  an  axle  at  high  speed,  or 
the  bursting  of  a  tire,  which  may  then  wrap  up  into  the  wheel,  overthrowing 
the  entire  vehicle,  is  likely  to  mean  at  the  best  broken  limbs,  and  at  the  worst 
loss  of  life.  Weather  must  be  considered,  too.  When  there  is  snow  on  the 
ground  the  automobile  is  practically  out  of  commission.  This  means,  in  north- 
ern cities,  uselessness  for  a  quarter  of  the  year.  These  are  some  of  the  factors 
operating  against  the  general  public  use  of  the  automobile.  Others,  such  as 
poor  roads,  and  the  obstructive  attitude  of  a  part  of  the  public,  will  correct  them- 
selves when  the  right  kind  of  automobile  is  put  on  the  market. 

And  the  germ  of  the  matter  we  have  already.  If  American  mechanical 
ingenuity  cannot  evolve  from  the  present  imperfect  machine,  sooner  or  later,  an 
automobile  which  shall  combine  speed  and  safety  with  the  ability  to  travel  any 
road  upon  which  the  ordinary  light  horse  vehicle  can  make  its  way,  and  put 
that  automobile  on  the  market  at  a  reasonable  price,  it  will  have  fallen  short 
of  its  past  records.  Until  that  is  achieved,  however,  I  shall  expect  to  see  the 
horse  still  the  motive  power  of  our  roadway  traffic  and  master  of  the  highways 
and  byways. 


O-iS^^^^/i? 


THE  AUTOMOBILE  AND  ITS 
RELATION  TO    GOOD  ROADS 

BY    COLONEL   JOHN  JACOB    ASTOR 


HE  automobile  is  so  natural  an  evolution,  and  fills  such  a  long- 
felt  want,  that  there  can  be  no  question  as  to  its  career.  Every 
improvement  in  transportation  is  a  distinct  gain,  and  ever  since 
the  aborigine  found  that  the  earth  would  bear  part  of  his 
burden,  if  he  dragged,  instead  of  carrying  it,  improvement  has 
been  going  on.  The  possibilities  of  automobiling  are,  moreover, 
so  great,  and  the  benefits  so  far-reaching,  that  it  has  become  a  fascinating  study 
for  anyone  interested  in  the  welfare  of  mankind,  to  say  nothing  of  the  welfare 
of  our  equine  friends. 

My  first  experience  with  automobiles  was  in  1899.  I  hired  an  electric 
one  at  Newport,  and  liked  it  so  much  that  now  I  have  quite  a  collection. 
While  abroad  last  spring  I  made  a  trip  from  Paris  to  Marseilles,  using  a  Pan- 
hard  &  Levasseur  oil  machine.  An  electric  machine  was,  of  course,  out  of  the 
question  for  such  a  distance,  and  steam  machines  were  not  to  be  had.  The  best 
roads  in  France  for  long-distance  running  are  those  to  Marseilles  and  Bor- 
deaux. Both  pass  through  valleys,  and  are  comparatively  free  from  hills.  My 
chauffeur  was  an  excellent  mechanic,  but  unfortunately  did  not  know  the  road, 
so  that  several  times  we  got  off"  the  route,  and  it  took  five  days  to  make  Mar- 
seilles. It  should  have  been  done  in  much  less  time.  The  French  seldom 
interfere  with  speedy  travellers,  and  in  fact  rather  enjoy  the  spectacle  of  an 
automobile  flying  along  at  a  sixty-kilometre  gait,  which,  on  their  roads,  is  not 
especially  difficult. 

The  automobile  will,  undoubtedly,  do  more  for  good  roads  than  all  other 
factors  combined,  because,  while  bringing  health  and  pleasure  to  those  using  it 
for  enjoyment,  it  will  be  a  great  convenience  to  the  business  man,  and  will 
increase  the  profit  of  the  farmer,  so  that  all  these  will  have  a  common  interest 
in  extending  its  sphere,  and  in  providing  what  it  must  have  to  give  good  results, 
viz. :   good  roads. 

To  produce  a  practical  country  road  the  location,  if  it  is  a  new  road,  is 
the  first  consideration.  Avoid  steep  hills  for  two  reasons — a  steep  hill  reduces 
the  possible  load,  and  makes  the  maintenance  expensive  on  account  of  washing 
during  every  heavy  rain.      Six   to   eight  feet   of  elevation  to  every  hundred  teet 


2^6        The  Automobile  and  Its  I^elation  to    Good  I^oads 


of  leno-th   is  about  as  steep  as  a  hill  should  be,  and  a  uniform  standard  of  only 
four  or  five  per  cent,  is  much  better. 

Next  in  importance  to  easy  grades  is  straightness.  A  straight  line  being 
the  shortest  distance  between  two  points,  the  road  engineer  should  see  to  its 
application.  When  the  alignment  is  decided,  fill  all  low  and  soft  places  with 
such  surface  stones  as   country  traversed   possesses.      After  this  spread   about   six 

inches  of  broken  stone — it 
you  have  a  stone  crusher — 
nearly  flat  over  the  width 
of  road,  sprinkle  it  thor- 
oughly with  a  watering  cart, 
m  o  u  n  t  e  d  on  tires  eight 
inches  wide,  and  roll  thor- 
oughly with  a  steam  roller; 
after  this  spread  an  equal 
thickness  of  fine  stone, 
sprinkle  and  roll  as  before, 
and  the  road  is  done. 

The  larger  size  of 
crush  stone  should  not  ex- 
ceed one  inch  in  diameter, 
and  the  smaller  pieces 
should  be  no  larger  than 
almonds,  the  more  irreg- 
ular, of  course,  the  better, 
since  irregularity  helps  them  to  knit.  In  bringing  an  old  country  road  up  to 
the  standard,  it  is  best  to  attack  the  hills — cut  through  their  tops,  and  put  the 
material  thus  obtained  in  the  dips  between.  This  kills  two  birds  with  one 
stone  and  is  easy  work,  since  material  is  always  being  moved  to  a  lower  level. 
The  road  should  be  widened  toward  the  fences  and  the  excessive  "crown  "  re- 
moved, and  provision  must  always  be  made  for  carrying  water  under  the  road 
by  a  sufficiently  large  pipe  when  the  line  crosses  a  gulley,  or  any  place  that  may 
ever  contain  a  stream. 

The  road's  maintenance  and  betterment  also  call  for  an  ordinance  requiring 
the  use  of  rubber  or  very  wide  tires  by  all  vehicles,  the  width  increasing  with 
the  weight  carried. 

The  more  a  road  is  used  by  vehicles  so  equipped  the  better  it  will  become, 
especially  if  the  surface  is  not  roughened  by  the  feet  of  horses  struggling  to  drag 
their  loads  up  steep  hills. 

It  has  been  demonstrated  in  Massachusetts  and  New  Jersey  that  the  farmer 


Miss  Madeleine  I.   Goddard. 


Colonel  'John   Jacob  Astor. 


C.    Gray   Dinsmor'e. 


John  H.   Flagler. 


The  Automobile  and  Its  B^elation  to   Good  ^oadi       2'jg 


is  the  friend  of  good  roads,  if  someone  will  show  him  how  to  build  them  and 
help  to  pay  for  them.  There  should  be  national  and  state  aid  ;  for  the  country 
and  the  state  as  well  as  the  local  commu- 
nity have  use  for  the  roads,  and  should  pay 
their  share  in  creating  and  maintaining 
them.  The  first  move  should  be  in  the 
direction  of  co  -  operation.  The  second 
should  be  the  formulation  of  a  practical  sys- 
tem capable  of  expanding  and  taking  in  the 
entire  country.  In  this  way  we  might 
create  a  system  of  National  Highways  such 
as  we  find  in  several  European  countries. 
To  secure  co-ordination  and  a  harmonious 
system  when  completed,  the  work  must,  of 
course,  be  guided  by  Federal  officers. 

As  General  Stone,  the  great  authority 
on  roads,  pointed  out,  no  investment  could 
be  safer  for  the  United  States  Government 
than  aiding  the  improvement  of  public 
roads  which  add  so  materially  to  the  wealth 
of  the  country,  and  this  may  lead  up  to  the 
construction  of  a  great  National  Highway 
across  the  continent.  Such  a  road  would 
be  an  object-lesson,  and  have  a  beneficial 
influence  by  encouraging  intercourse  be- 
tween different  sections  of  the  country. 

Convict  labor  might  be  used  to  advan- 
tage in  enlarging  and  improving  our  road 
system,  since  this  would  give  the  convicts 
useful  occupation,  in  which  they  would  not 
compete  with  honest  labor. 

On  rough  and  sandy  roads  steam  and  oil  machines  give  the  best  results,  but 
on  well-made  and  smooth  roads  the  electromobile  has  several  decided  advan- 
tages. It  is  clean,  almost  noiseless,  and  so  simple  that  a  child  can  operate  it. 
While  any  electricity  remains  in  the  batteries,  it  is  ready  for  instant  use,  and 
on  leaving  it,  one  has  but  to  remove  the  small  aluminum  key  to  feel  perfectly 
sure  that  no  one  will  carry  it  off^.  I  think  the  new,  long-bodied  electromobile 
capable  of  running  over  a  hundred  miles  without  having  its  batteries  recharged, 
and  that,  with  its  accelerator  working,  makes  twenty-five  miles  an  hour,  is  a  long 
step  toward  the  ideal  type  ot  automobile. 


Mrs.   George  B.  de  Forest. 


28 o       The  Automobile  and  Its  Relation  to   Good  I^oads 

It  has  another  great  advantage  that  only  an  electromobile  can  possess. 
When  the  carriage  runs  the  motor,  as  it  does  in  going  down  hill,  the  motor  by 
a  movement  ot  the  operator's  hand  becomes  a  dynamo,  and  the  power  that  is 
ordinarily  lost  on  applying  the  brake  returns  to  the  batteries  in  the  shape  of 
electricity,  so  that  in  going  down  hill  it  recharges  itself.  The  power  recovered 
on  one  hill  may  thus  easily  run  the  carriage  a  mile  or  more  on  level  ground. 

The  locomobile,  mobiles,  and  machines  dependent  on  combustion,  will 
undoubtedly  improve  in  construction  and  maintenance  of  speed,  and  may 
require  less  attention  to  keep  in  good  order,  but  as  electricity  has  advanced 
more  rapidly  than  steam  in  the  last  ten  years,  I  see  no  reason  why  it  should  not 
continue  to  do  so  in  the  next. 

However,  in  connection  with  automobiling,  we  always  come  back  to  the 
question  of  good  roads,  on  which  automobiles  depend.  Any  of  the  existing 
types  could  give  much  better  results,  if  worked  under  more  favorable  conditions, 
so  that  in  the  development  of  automobiling  in  the  country  at  large,  the  road 
builder  is  as  important  a  factor  as  the  electrician  or  engineer. 


Mrs.   J.  Lawrence  Van  Alen. 


LAWN    TENNIS 


MALCOLM  D.  WHITMAN 

Champion  (Singles)  J 898,  1899,  J 900 

HOLCOMBE   WARD 

Champion  {'Doubles)  1899,  1900 

J.  PARMLY  PARET 

Winner  of  All  Comer's,  1899 


T/je  Davis  htternational  Challenge   Trophy. 


Whitman's  Cautious  Style  of  Defensive  Play. 


THE  THEORY  OF  PLAY  IN 
MODERN    LAWN-TENNIS 

BY   MALCOLM   D.    WHITMAN 


HE    present   article   concerns   itself  with   the  development   of  the 

Cgame  of  Lawn-Tennis  in  America.  It  has  to  do  with  American 
tactics  and  American  conditions.  Its  conclusions  are  based  on 
personal  observation,  and  its  inferences  in  regard  to  the  older 
players  are  drawn  from  careful  discussions  with  men  who  have 
made  a  life  study  of  the  game.  It  is  an  attempt  to  formulate  an 
ideal,  and  its  object  is  to  illustrate,  by  the  prominent  players  of  the  past  twenty 
years,  what  the  writer  believes  to  be  the  true  methods  of  successful  play. 

The  origin  of  Lawn-Tennis  as  established  by  historical  fact  is  very  vague, 
and  obscure.  We  learn  that  it  had  prototypes  in  comparatively  distant  ages, 
though,  in  its  present  form,  it  has  existed  but  about  twenty-five  years.  In  France, 
hundreds  of  years  ago,  there  was  a  game  strikingly  similar  to  Tennis  called  la 
longue  paume.  It  was  played  over  a  bank  of  earth  two  feet  high,  with  a  cork  ball 
struck  by  the  hand.  "  Subsequently,"  one  writer  tells  us,  "  some  ingenious  per- 
son devised  an  instrument  of  wood  and  gut,  which  received  the  name  of  a  racket, 
and,  in  this  form,  the  game  penetrated  to  England."  However  this  may  be,  we 
find  Lawn-Tennis  an  established  pastime  in   England  about  the  year  1875. 

The  origin  of  the  science  of  Lawn-Tennis,  as  a  matter  of  deduction  and  not 
of  history,  is  simple.  As  in  all  games,  the  fundamental  elements  of  Tennis  re- 
solve themselves  into  the  first  instincts  of  play.  Among  all  primitive  peoples 
we  find  pastimes  consisting,  for  the  most  part,  of  knocking  to  and  tro  some  ob- 
ject in  the  nature  of  a  ball.  Originally,  people  found  delight  in  simply  striking 
this  object  back  and  forth  over  some  obstacle,  such  as  a  mound  or  net.  This 
was  the  earliest  conception,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  it  is  almost  always 
the  primary  conception,  of  those  who  v/atch  Tennis  for  the  first  time;  they 
wonder  why  the  players  cannot  keep  the  ball  in  motion  longer.  However,  one 
soon  tires  of  simple  bandying.  Though  it  is  good  exercise  and  requires  speed 
and  activity,  there  is  one  element  of  human  nature  left  unsatisfied — the  love  of 
fight  and  competition.  We  lose  interest  in  our  opponent  when  we  find  that  he 
is  not  so  sure  to  return  the  ball  as  a  mere  wall,  and  we  lose  interest  in  the  wall 
when  we  realize  the  impossibility  of  ever  beating  it.  The  result  is  we  are  led 
to  discover  the  idea  of  limiting  the  space  on  either  side  of  the  net,  and  lo  !  our 
Tennis  Court  is  established. 


284-  The   Theory  of  Plaij  in  Modern   Lawn  ~  Tennis 


The  object  now  becomes,  within  certain  limits,  to  prevent  our  opponent 
from  making  a  return.  How  shall  this  be  done?  Where  in  the  court  shall  the 
player  stand,  and  what  methods  shall  be  used  ?  These  problems  are,  of  course,  but 
the  basis  of  the  modern  science,  the  court  having  remained  practically  the  same. 
Throughout  the  history  of  Lawn-Tennis  there  has  been  one  lasting  con- 
troversy in  regard  to  style,  involving  the  fundamental  problem  of  position.     Two 

distinct  schools,  teaching  different  methods,  have 
opposed  each  other,  one  advocating  a  style  of  base- 
line play,  the  other  believing  in  the  volley.  In 
England,  Mr.  Lawford  and  Mr.  Renshaw,  the 
originators  and  types  of  the  opposing  schools,  have 
fought  over  the  problem  ot  correct  position  in  the 
court  both  theoretically  and  in  execution.  The 
essential  difference  between  the  two  styles  has  been 
summed  up  in  the  following  manner:  "There  is 
always  a  spot  in  the  court  where  the  player  is  most 
at  ease,  a  point  from  which  he  thinks  he  can  best 
attack  and  defend  ;  a  sort  of  stronghold  to  which 
he  returns  as  soon  as  possible  after  having,  tor  a 
moment,  been  compelled  to  leave  it.  The  spot 
selected  by  Mr.  Renshaw  was  about  a  foot  behind 
the  service-line;  that  chosen  by  Mr.  Lawford,  about 
the  base-line."      (Wilberforce.) 

Mr.  Renshaw,  in  1881,  went  so  far  as  to  make 
the  following  prediction :  "  Before  many  years,  tak- 
ing the  ball  off  the  ground  will  be  quite  the  excep- 
tion, and  in  its  place  there  will  be  far  finer  and 
more  exciting  rallies  in  the  volley  than  have  ever 
been  up  to  the  present." 

On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Lawford  wrote  that 
"  Perfect  back  play  will  beat  perfect  volleying ;  it  is  always  possible  to  pass 
a  voUeyer,  with  the  court  as  it  is  at  present ;  and  I  know  that  when  I  lose  a 
stroke  by  being  volleyed,  it  is  my  own  fault." 

The  outcome  of  this  controversy  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  student 
of  Tennis  theory.  It  shows  us  the  English  solution  of  the  problem  of  position, 
a  solution  generally  believed  to  be  correct  by  Englishmen  of  the  present  day. 
This  is  well  stated  in  the  Badminton  series — "a  practical  equilibrium  between 
the  two  methods  was  obtained.  Mr.  Lawford,  while  advocating  in  print  and 
enforcing  in  practice  the  paramount  necessity  of  strong  and  accurate  back-play, 
had,  by  this  time,  convinced  himself  that  a   combination  of  both    styles  would 


R.  D.  Sears. 


The   Theory  of  Plaij  in  Modern  Lawn  -  Tennis         28^ 


always  be  necessary.  Since  then  the  volleying  has  been  as  brilliant  and  unex- 
pected as  ever;   but  it  has  not  been  the  basis,  but  the  result,  of  strategy." 

It  must  be  remembered  that,  in  the  early  beginnings,  Tennis  was  a  pure 
pastime.  The  element  of  tournament  competition  had  not  entered  into  the 
game.  In  England,  where  the  conditions  were  particularly  well  adapted  to 
Lawn-Tennis,  it  was  the  accepted  pastime  ot  the  English  garden-party.  Every 
country  place  had  its  Tennis  Court  ;  and  the  English 
people  loved  the  game  as  they  love  all  games,  purely 
for  recreation.  Consequently  the  early  style  of  play 
was  leisurely,  the  players  finding  pleasure  in  long 
rallies  from  the  base-line.  Mr.  Renshaw's  style  was 
in  the  nature  of  an  innovation,  and  for  a  time  a 
reaction  against  the  volleyer  set  in.  As  we  find  in 
the  Badminton  series,  "  the  offender  was  to  be  abol- 
ished altogether  by  the  assistance  of  legislation,  or, 
at  least,  to  be  ostracized  from  the  vicinity  of  the 
net."  Players  and  public  alike  were  opposed  to  the 
introduction  of  a  game  which  should  difter  from 
battledore  and  shuttlecock  principally  in  the  short- 
ness of  the  struggle. 

The  practical  result  of  Mr.  Renshaw's  innova- 
tion was  the  concession  by  the  followers  of  the 
Lawford  school,  which  we  have  seen.  However, 
Mr.  Renshaw's  theory  of  volleying  from  the  service- 
line  was  not  absolutely  accepted.  In  a  criticism  of 
his  play  it  is  stated  "  that  he  had  omitted  or  under- 
rated the  limitations  imposed  by  nature  on  human 
strength.  Volleying  from  the  service-line  is  more 
exhausting  than  back-play,  and  the  champion  him- 
self has  been  alike  in  practice  and  theory  compelled 

to  submit  to  the  laws  of  nature."  Thus  we  find  a  blending  of  base-line  and 
service-line  play  the  ideal  style.  The  problem  of  position  in  England  may  be 
said  to  have  been  solved  in  the  following  manner  :  The  player  should  take 
every  opportunity  to  secure  his  stronghold  near  the  service-line,  volleying  low 
all  shots  possible,  and  retreating  only  when  forced.  This  is  the  English  style 
of  to-day,  a  style  of  which,  to  the  writer's  mind.  Dr.  Pim  was  both  the  type 
and  master. 

When  Tennis  was  introduced  into  this  country,  about  i  876,  it  was  with  the 
importation  of  English  conditions.  It  will  not  be  necessary  to  discuss  here  the 
chronology  and  historical  growth  of  the  game  ;   that  has  been  done  in  another 


H.   IV.  Slocum,  Jr. 


286  The   Theory  of  Play  in  Modern  Lawn -Tennis 


chapter.  It  will  be  interesting,  however,  to  try  to  discover  when  the  iirst  ele- 
ments of  American  character  entered  into  this  hitherto  essentially  English  game. 

Mr.  Sears,  in  commenting  on  his  own  style,  tells  us  that  unconsciously  he 
found  himself  stepping  forward  toward  the  net  and  striking  the  ball  on  the 
volley.  The  following  lines  are  interesting  :  "  Every  man  in  the  single,  except 
Mr.  Sears,  played  the  base-line  game,  and  Mr.  Sears's  game  was  the  most  curious 
style  of  volleying  imaginable.  The  base-line  player  would  almost  invariably 
drive  the  ball  hard  over  the  centre  of  the  net,  that  being  the  lowest  point,  and 
Mr.  Sears,  armed  with  a  racket  weighing  at  least  sixteen  ounces,  and  holding  it 
very  short  in  the  handle,  would  simply  stop  the  ball.  Lobbing  had  not  been 
thought  of  then,  as  Mr.  Sears's  style  of  game  was  so  wholly  unexpected,  and 
the  harder  his  opponents'  balls  were  struck  the  harder  they  went  back.  He 
stood  up  a  little  nearer  the  net  than  the  service-line  and  placed  the  ball  first  in 
one  corner  and  then  in  the  other,  and  his  adversary  went  see-sawing  across  the 
court."  Thus  we  see  that  our  first  champion  picked  out  the  volley  as  a  feature  of 
the  most  vital  importance.  He  moulded  his  game  according  to  the  English 
style  of  play,  with  perhaps  a  slight  tendency  in  position  toward  the  net. 

Mr.  Sears  had  assimilated  the  results  of  the  Lawford-Renshaw  controversy. 
His  game  was  rounded  and  symmetrical.  There  was  no  stroke  at  which  he  was 
particularly  weak.  The  fundamental  theory  of  his  play  was  rather  to  annul 
his  defects  than  to  accentuate  his  brilliancy — that  is,  throughout  his  training  he 
employed  more  of  his  time  in  practising  the  strokes  on  which  he  was  weak 
than  in  revelling  in  strokes  at  which  he  was  peculiarly  skilful.  His  style  was 
balanced  ;  he  could  play  as  well  with  his  backhand  as  with  his  forehand.  He 
was  as  versatile  it  caught  near  the  net  as  in  the  back  of  the  court.  He  under- 
stood the  instinctive  knack  of  volleying  and  the  skill  of  accurate  base-line  play. 
Owing  to  this  symmetry  of  style  Mr.  Sears  is  one  of  the  best  examples  that  can 
be  found  of  what  the  writer  believes  to  be  perfect  form  in  Tennis.  He  was  the 
complete  master  ot  the  game  of  his  day.  Whether  that  game  has  advanced  or 
deteriorated  the  writer  hopes  to  show.  At  least  some  of  the  changes  will  be 
pointed  out. 

It  has  often  been  asked  if  our  first  champion  played  a  net  game.  '  It  must 
be  remembered  in  answering  this  question  that  the  term  "  net  game  "  in  America 
does  not  mean  what  it  did  twenty  years  ago.  To-day  the  net  player  proper  is 
one  who  runs  in  on  his  service,  forces  the  net  at  every  opportunity,  and  stands 
far  nearer  the  net  in  his  volleying  than  any  of  the  older  players.  His  volleying 
stroke  itself  is  of  a  different  nature.  It  is  a  sharp  cut  made  from  the  shoulder, 
far  more  rapid  and  effective  than  the  older  stroke.  Consequently,  according 
to  modern  ideas,  Mr.  Sears  was  not  a  net  player  proper.  His  position  in  the 
court  was  but  little  in  advance  of  that  of  the  English. 


The  Theory  of  Play  in  Modern  Lawn -Tennis         28  y 


In  noting  the  process  of  our  development  in  Tennis,  the  one  characteristic 
that  stands  out  sharply  defined  is  the  tendency  toward  the  net.  The  radical 
departures  in  method  which  have  been  introduced  since  Mr.  Sears's  time  have 
been  due  to  the  desire  to  play  more  aggressively.  There  has  been  a  mad  rush 
forward  and  a  flourish  of  arms,  so  to 
speak.  This  tendency  to  volley  every- 
thing and  to  "  kill  "  seems  to  have  ap- 
pealed to  the  American  temperament. 
The  rapidity  and  surprising  agility  re- 
quired by  this  style  of  play  gave  the 
American  an  outlet  to  his  nervous  ac- 
tivity. As  a  result,  the  love  of  rapid 
volleying  caused  the  American  to  go 
too  far  in  this  direction,  and  he  failed 
to  perfect  his  ground  strokes.  He  was 
too  eager  to  indulge  in  his  strength  and 
too  loath  to  correct  his  defects.  Mr. 
Wrenn  comments  on  this  characteristic 
among  the  leading  American  players, 
saying  that  "  if  beginners  would  bear  in 
mind  that  a  net  game  is  perfected  only 
when  it  is  backed  up  by  accurate  back- 
court  work,  and  vice  versa,  a  much  more 
rapid  improvement  could  be  counted  on." 

This  exaggerated  tendency  toward 
the  net  game  is  well  illustrated  by  Mr. 

O.  S.  Campbell,  one  of  the  greatest  geniuses  in  the  history  of  Lawn-Tennis. 
Campbell  was  slight,  nervously  active,  and  remarkably  quick  at  the  volley.  He 
had  the  instinctive  knack  of  anticipating  the  intended  direction  of  his  oppo- 
nent's play.  He  cultivated  the  art  of  cutting  the  ball  off  at  angles  at  the  net, 
and  perfected  it  to  perhaps  a  greater  degree  than  any  other  player.  He  was  the 
originator  and  the  first  exponent  of  the  modern  American  volley.  As  was  quite 
natural,  finding  that  this  would  win,  he  made  no  attempt  to  round  his  game, 
but  simply  put  all  his  power  into  his  net  play,  and  it  is  perhaps  for  this  reason 
that  he  suffered  in  his  trip  to  England. 

It  is  a  fact  that  no  player  in  his  first  attack  against  a  net  man  can  do  him- 
self justice.  His  opponent's  rapid  rush  forward  tends  to  make  him  hurried  and 
to  make  him  take  his  eye  from  the  ball.  In  America,  where  the  back-court 
game  of  our  players  was  not  as  steady  as  that  of  England,  and  where  the  players 
were  of  a  more  nervous  disposition,  Campbell's  tactics  proved  insurmountable. 


Dr.   TV.   V.  Eaves. 


288  The   Theory  of  Play  in   Modern   Lawn  -  Tennis 


His  chop  stroke  had  a  peculiar  shoot  on  the  bound,  and  the  nicety  of  his  net  cuts 
was  most  effective.  Oftentimes,  however,  he  won  from  the  bewildered  plays  of 
his  opponents  and  the  demoralizing  influence  so  noticeable  in  the  artistic  volley. 
In  England  the  conditions  were  different.  The  calm  Englishman,  master  of 
the  long,  deep  back-court  strokes,  showed  less  tendency  to  hurry.      He  waited, 

taking  the  ball  low,  and  placing  his  shots 
precisely  as  against  an  old-fashioned  player. 
Consequently  Mr.  Canipbell  earned  far  less 
on  hurried  or  bewildered  strokes.  He  was 
often  forced  from  the  net,  and,  as  his  game 
was  not  rounded,  as  he  had  cultivated  no 
efficiency  in  the  back  of  the  court,  he  be- 
came a  victim. 

If  it  were  possible  to  develop  a  net  player 
of  such  agility  and  skill  that  no  one  could 
pass  him,  the  true  advice  would  be  to  culti- 
vate volleying  at  the  expense  of  everything 
else.  It  seems  to  the  writer,  however,  that 
the  uniform  defeat  of  our  ideal  net  player  in 
England  tends  to  prove  that  such  skill  and 
agility  are  beyond  the  realm  of  possibility. 
The  young  player  must  learn  not  to  sacrifice 
his  ground  strokes  for  his  net  play.  He  must 
learn  to  develop  a  symmetrical  style  and  to 
be  able  to  play  in  all  positions  on  the  court. 
Owing  to  this  new  and  peculiarly  American 
style  of  play,  this  bewildering  rushing  to  the 
net  and  cutting  aside  shots  that  ordinarily 
would  have  been  safe,  a  new  art  sprang  up, 
an  art  that  is  not  yet  very  much  understood  by  Tennis  players  in  general,  the 
art  of  manoeuvring  a  man  away  from  the  net.  This  was  perhaps  best  under- 
stood by  Campbell's  successor  to  the  championship,  Mr.  R.  D.  Wrenn.  Evi- 
dently he  had  been  deeply  impressed  by  the  success  of  his  forerunner's  net 
tactics.  He  believed  in  their  power  and  saw  that  by  such  purely  American 
methods  we  might  later  learn  to  defeat  our  English  rivals.  He  fealized,  how- 
ever, that  something  else  was  needed,  namely,  skill  in  back-court  play.  That, 
at  least,  would  be  essential  to  his  success ;  and  he  set  to  work  to  study  not 
only  the  trick  of  the  American  volley,  but  the  methods  of  dealing  with  it. 

The   result    of  Mr.   Wrenn's    study  was   a   remarkable    success  against   the 
cleverest  volleyers  this  or  any  other  country  had  ever  seen.     Messrs.  Neel,  Hovey, 


t 


Clarence  Hobart. 


Malcolm  D.   Whitman. 

Champion  hi   Sitigks,   l8(p8,   l8c/p,    igoo. 


The   Theory  of  Play  in  Modern  Lawn -Tennis         2gi 


and  Larned  all  fell  before  him,  and  it  may  be  well  said  to-day  that  Wrenn  was 
our  greatest  master  of  manoeuvre.  He  won  all  his  matches  by  the  exhibition 
of  the  coolest  judgment  at  critical  times.  If  his  opponent  ran  too  close  to  the 
net,  Wrenn  lobbed  a  long,  low  ball  just  over  his  head  ;  if  he  did  not  run  close 
enough,  Wrenn  put  a  slow,  easy  ball  at  his  feet  ;  if  he  was  at  all  out  of  position, 
Wrenn  passed  him  with  a  graceful  drop  stroke. 
The  three  strokes  to  be  used  against  the 
American  volleyer,  the  pass,  the  lob,  and  the 
low,  easy  shot  falling  short  of  the  service-line, 
Wrenn  varied  with  the  utmost  skill,  and  de- 
monstrated the  fact  (at  one  time  a  question 
of  serious  doubt)  that  by  means  of  the  varia- 
tion of  these  strokes  the  net  player  could  be 
often  forced  back. 

Another  stroke  of  the  utmost  value  to 
the  back-court  player  when  hard  pressed  we 
learn  from  Mr.  Wrenn.  Though  he  may 
have  overdone  it,  perhaps,  on  many  occasions, 
he  has  proved  its  efficacy.  This  is  the  high 
lob.  It  consists  merely  of  tossing  the  ball 
some  fifty  or  sixty  feet  in  the  air,  so  that  it 
will  fall  perpendicularly  within  a  short  dis- 
tance of  the  base-line.  This  can  be  done 
when  one  is  badly  out  of  court  and  when 
no  other  shot  would  be  ot  much  aid.  For 
a  time  it  was  a  matter  of  discussion  as  to 
whether  a  master  should  ever  resort  to  the 
high  lob.  The  low,  rounded  lob,  just  over 
the  head  of  the   opponent,   is   an    established 

scientific  stroke  both  in  England  and  America.  The  high  lob,  however,  is 
purely  American,  and  not  adopted  either  in  theory  or  practice  by  any  of  the  Eng- 
lish players.  They  call  it  a  sign  of  weakness  and  an  acknowledgment  that  one  is 
at  a  disadvantage.  However,  Mr.  Wrenn  has  proved  the  value  of  the  high  lob 
beyond  a  doubt  and  against  the  Englishmen  themselves.  As  a  purely  defensive 
shot,  the  writer  sees  no  objection  to  such  a  stroke.  Surely  it  has  been  a  strong 
winning  element  in  our  universal  success  in  doubles  against  the  English  ;  and, 
as  a  last  resort  from  an  awkward  position,  when  one's  opponent  is  well  placed 
at  the  net,  it  is  absolutely  indispensable. 

Thus  we    see   some   of  the    methods  of  dealing  with  the  typical  American 
game,  a  game  that,  in  Mr.  Wrenn's  time,  may  be  said  to  have  been  represented 


M.  F.   Goodbody. 


202  The   Theory  of  Plaij  in  Modern  Lawn -Tennis 


by  himself,  Messrs.  Neel,  Hovey,  and  Larned.  All  these  men  believed  in  ob- 
taining one  certain  position.  In  other  words,  they  had  solved  the  problem  of 
position,  just  as  the  English  players  had  years  before.  Their  stronghold  was 
about  half  way  from  the  service-line  to  the  net,  fully  eight  teet  in  advance  of 
that  of  the  English.  Their  controversies  with  one  another  were  not  controver- 
sies in  regard  to  the  proper  position  in 
the  court,  but  in  regard  to  the  manner 
of  obtaining  and  holding  that  position. 
In  other  words,  for  several  years  Ameri- 
can play  was  merely  a  light  for  the  net. 
Back-court  style  per  se  was  not  even 
considered. 
*•  As  has  been  remarked  in   the  com- 

ments on  Mr.  Campbell's  play,  many 
of  the  points  earned  were  due  to  the 
nervous  flurry  of  his  opponents.  This 
nervousness,  or  nervous  activity,  is  an 
absolute  element  in  the  American  make- 
up. It  is  a  fact  with  which  we  have 
to  deal. 

There  is  a  theory  of  Emerson's  that 
"  Nature,  in  order  to  hit  the  mark,  aims 
over  it ;  that  every  act  has  some  false- 
hood of  exaggeration  in  it."  To  the 
writer  this  truth  is  clearly  illustrated 
in  the  modern  development  of  Tennis. 
The  American's  nervous  temperament  in  the  old  style  of  game  tended  to  make 
him  too  hurried.  He  was  too  eager  to  win  the  point  quickly  and  to  end  the 
long  old-style  rallies  by  a  brilliant  stroke.  As  a  result,  in  comparison  with  the 
English  players,  he  was  unsteady.  His  temperament  proved  to  be  detrimental  ; 
it  was  not  suited  to  the  plodding  methods  of  play  required. 

The  most  modern  style  of  play,  however,  requires  the  greatest  speed,  ac- 
tivity, and  agility.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  it  is  peculiarly  suited  to  the 
American  temperament.  This  seems  to  be  the  case.  The  nervous  energy  that 
caused  the  American  to  be  too  hasty,  that  made  his  rapidity  o'erleap  itself  in 
the  old-fashioned  style  of  play,  now  enables  him  to  accomplish  the  lightning 
volleys  of  the  modern  game  and  to  keep  up  his  incessant  rushing  to  the  net. 
The  energy  which  was  formerly  diffused  into  worry  and  nervous  haste  now 
expends  itself  in  rapidity  of  motion  and  violent  physical  exertion.  The  very 
element   of  temperament    that    was    detrimental    in    the    old   style  of  play    now 


G.  M.   BrinJey. 


/* 


MMc^i 


One  of  Lamed' s  Easy  Back-hand  Passing  Strokes. 


The  Theory  of  Play  in  Modern  Lawn -Tennis         2g^ 


p^p"?;^!' 


proves  to  be  beneficial.  This  fact  is  clearly  laid  stress  upon  by  one  of  our  most 
representative  athletes,  for  Mr.  Wrenn,  in  what  he  terms  words  of  "  patriotic 
vanity,"  has  said  :  "  It  is  proverbial  that  the  American  has  more  energy  and 
zest  (than  the  Englishman),  two  important  factors  in  the  necessary  make-up; 
and  when  by  large  experience  he  has  acquired  a  steadiness  and  coolness  at  crit- 
ical times,  and  lost  a  little  his  desire  to 
win  points  too  rapidly,  he  should  make 
the  better  player."  Arguing  on  this 
basis,  it  would  seem  as  though  the  most 
exaggerated  form  of  net  play  were  the 
ideal.  However,  it  is  still  necessary  for 
the  American  to  be  able  to  play  in  the 
back  of  the  court,  in  order  to  secure  his 
net  position.  There  are  many  times 
when  a  man  running  in  would  do  so  to 
his  disadvantage.  If  he  can  play  at  the 
net  alone  he  must  take  that  disadvantage. 
The  result  is  that  he  must  either  learn 
the  method  of  getting  there  correctly 
every  time  without  the  need  of  ground 
strokes,  or  he  must  cultivate  a  ground 
stroke.  The  first  alternative,  as  has  been 
demonstrated,  is  practically  impossible. 
A  man  is  bound  to  be  some  ot  the 
time  in  the  back  of  the  court,  and 
bound  to  learn  to  play  there  accordingly. 

The  newest  element  in  modern  play  is  the  curious  cut  service  of  Messrs. 
Davis,  Ward,  and  Whitman.  It  is  a  new  step  in  the  evolution  of  that  stroke. 
It  bears  the  same  relation  to  the  overhand  serve  of  the  past  few  years  as 
that  bore  to  the  underhand  method  employed  in  England  in  the  early  days. 
The  great  usefulness  of  the  cut  service  lies  primarily  in  the  fact  that  it 
forces  the  receiver  back  from  the  net.  It  aids  the  server  in  the  struggle 
for  the  stronghold  net  position.  This  once  obtained,  the  American  player 
has  a  distinct  advantage.  The  tremendous  twist  imparted  to  the  ball  makes 
it  break  curiously  from  the  ground  and  likewise  causes  it  to  ricochet  from 
the  receiver's  racket,  characteristics  that  make  an  accurate  return  almost  im- 
possible. 

The  International  Tournament  this  summer  demonstrated  the  value  of  this 
service.      The   Englishmen  were    completely  baffled    by  the   new  stroke,  which 


F.  H.   Hovey. 


the  writer  believes  has  supplemented  a  defect  in   the  American  running-in  style. 


2g6  The  Theory  of  Play  in  Modern  Lawn -Tennis 


Where  before  it  was   often   hazardous   to  follow  up   one's  serve,  it  is  now  a  sure 
winning  mancruvre  and  a  scientilic  one. 

The   principal    changes    in    the    development    of  Lawn-Tennis  have   been 
indicated,  and  we  now  turn  to  the  philosophy  of  modern  style.      What  are  the 

fundamental  principles  to  be  borne  in 
mind  by  the  ambitious  match-player  ? 
Once  assuming  his  ability  to  play  from 
all  positions  on  the  court,  how  shall  he 
proceed  to  make  use  ot  that  ability  ? 

To  the  writer's  mind,  even  in  the 
brilliant  and  rapid  game  of  to-day,  the 
player  must  incline  to  caution.  He  must 
never  try  to  outdo  himself.  General 
experience  and  statistics  show  that  the 
steady,  persistent  player  wins  in  the  long 
run.  Mr.  Davis  is  the  one  man  whose 
brilliancy  and  daring  have  in  the  least 
tended  to  shake  the  writer's  theory. 
Happily  that  theory  has  not  been  shaken, 
and  it  agrees  with  the  underlying  prin- 
ciples of  success  that  run  through  the 
history  of  Lawn-Tennis.  Most  of  the 
great  match-players  have  been  examples 
of  caution  rather  than  daring,  of  con- 
sistency rather  than  brilliancy,  and  of 
judgment  rather  than  genius.  The  vic- 
tory of  steadiness  over  brilliancy  in 
match  play  is  a  philosophical  result. 
The  steady  player  has  in  reality  a  mental 
influence  over  his  adversary.  The  Wrenn-Larned  matches  illustrate  this  fact. 
Mr.  Larned,  like  Mr.  Davis,  a  most  accomplished  exponent  of  brilliant  Tennis, 
and  a  man  ot  great  pluck  and  natural  courage,  could  not  extricate  himself  from 
this  influence.  The  very  nature  of  close  competition  instinctively  accentuates 
the  element  of  strength  in  the  steady  player — for  caution,  of  which  steadiness  is 
the  offspring,  is  the  natural  instinct  of  man  when  hard  pressed.  On  the  other 
hand,  brilliancy  under  pressure  invariably  deteriorates.  The  physical  and  men- 
tal strain  of  a  severe  contest  either  cause  the  brilliant  player  to  lose  his  spon- 
taneity, or  drive  him  to  despairing  strokes  that  tend  out  of  court. 

The  theory  of  caution  may  well   be  remembered  in  solving  our  most  diffi- 
cult problem — that  ot   passing   the  server   from  the  modern  twist  service.      The 


W.  A.  Larned. 


The   Theory  of  Play  in  Modern  Lawn  -  Tennis         2g'/ 


secret  lies  in  not  attempting  "to  pass  the  server  clean."  The  stroke  requisite 
for  so  doing  is  too  brilliant  to  be  made  consistently.  It  is  far  more  expedient 
to  play  a  sure  shot,  moderately  close  to  the  net,  with  the  endeavor  to  secure  a 
good  position  for  the  return.  It  tires  the  server  to  be  forced  to  win  every  point, 
he  is  kept  darting  from  side  to  side,  and 
an  opportunity  is  often  presented  to  play 
a  shot  with  nicety  from  one  ot  his  re- 
turns. The  writer's  own  peculiar  method 
in  passing  the  server  is  to  watch  both 
the  ball  and  the  player.  By  study  ot 
the  bodily  motions  of  various  opponents, 
he  has  learned  to  appreciate  the  shot 
expected  ot  him  and  to  govern  himself 
accordingly — a  bend  to  the  left,  tor  in- 
stance, indicating  a  play  to  the  right,  and 
vice  vejsa.  For  a  time,  however,  he  was 
very  much  perplexed  as  to  how  to  make 
his  return  ground  stroke.  Mr.  Hovey, 
champion  of  1895,  whose  game  he  had 
often  studied,  had  a  trick  of  playing  the 
ball  from  the  top  of  the  bound,  which 
was  most  effective  against  a  net  man. 
Mr.  Hovey's  argument  was  that  such  a 
stroke  saved  time,  and  did  not  give  the 
server  a  chance  to  get  into  position.  This 
was  true,  but  the  writer  found  that  what 
one  gained  in  time  one  more  than  lost 
in  steadiness,  even  in  returning  a  mod- 
erate service.      Mr.   Hovey   himselt  and 

all  his  imitators  were  most  erratic.  Consequently  the  writer  has  adopted  a 
stroke  on  which  he  can  depend — a  long,  swinging  stroke  with  no  cut,  striking 
the  ball  just  before  it  touches  the  ground.  Aside  from  lobbing  to  prevent  too 
close  an  approach,  he  invariably  uses  this  stroke  against  the  voUeyer,  playing 
it  as  near  the  top  of  the  net  as  is  consistently  safe. 

The  stroke  just  described  may  be  said  to  be  the  typical  ground  stroke,  and 
it  is  interesting  to  note  that  it  has  changed  but  little  during  the  growth  ot  Ten- 
nis. The  English  ground  stroke  of  fifteen  years  ago  represents  moderately  well 
the  ideal  of  to-day  both  in  America  and  in  England.  The  changes  that  have 
taken  place  have  been,  for  the  most  part,  only  in  the  voUev  and  the  service  ; 
but  they  have  been  sufficient  to  alter  essentially  the  nature  of  the  game. 


G.  L.   IVrenn,  Jr. 


2g8  The   Theory  of  Play  in  Modern  Lawn -Tennis 

The  change  of  service,  as  we  have  seen,  establishes  "  running-in  "  as  a 
scientific  manoeuvre,  and  the  change  in  the  volley  demands  that  the  server  "  run 
in  "  far  nearer  the  net  than  hitherto.  These  facts  show  that  there  is  much  more 
action  in  modern  style  than  under  the  old  regime,  and  the  truth  is  that  Lawn- 
Tennis  in  America  has  grown  to  be  a  supreme  test  of  one's  physical  capabili- 
ties. Though  the  writer  in  adopting  the  new  style  does  not  believe  that  "  he 
has  underestimated  the  limits  imposed  by  nature  on  human  strength,"  as  was  said 
in  regard  to  Mr.  Renshaw,  he  does  think  that  there  is  no  other  game  that  re- 
quires such  perfect  harmony  of  condition.  Body  and  mind  have  to  be  attuned. 
The  player  has  to  be  able  to  key  himself  up  to  the  highest  pitch  of  nervous 
tension,  and  yet  have  the  steadiness  of  a  surgeon's  hand  at  the  critical  moment. 

To-day  the  study  ot  condition  is  most  essential,  and  the  American  player 
must  train.  It  is  only  the  most  highly  organized,  well-nurtured  body  that  will 
react  properly  at  the  biddings  of  the  mind.  Thought  and  action  are  so  nearly 
simultaneous  in  many  oi  our  modern  plays  that  the  "  personal  equation  "  should 
be  reduced  as  much  as  possible.  This  can  only  be  done  by  careful  training. 
There  are  no  general  rules  ;  each  player  must  make  a  conscientious  study  ot  his 
individual  make-up,  and  strenuously  apply  the  results  of  that  study  to  the  culti- 
vation of  his  maximum  efficiency. 

The  requirement  of  careful  physical  culture  in  the  American  game  has 
somewhat  changed  the  general  spirit  of  play.  The  Englishmen  who  came  here 
during  the  past  summer  often  commented  on  this  spirit.  They  thought  the 
American  player  took  the  game  too  seriously,  that  he  made  labor  of  a  recrea- 
tion. They  scorned  the  idea  of  Tennis  losing  its  nature  of  a  pastime,  and  per- 
haps it  may  be  justly  asked.  Have  our  players  the  proper  idea  ot  Tennis  as  a 
sport  ?  Are  our  tournaments  too  business-like  ?  Have  they  lost  the  element  ot 
an  afternoon's  exercise  in  the  sun  ? 

There  is  a  grain  of  truth  in  the  Englishmen's  criticism,  but  there  is  much 
that  is  untrue.  Though  the  writer  has  the  deepest  respect  for  English  ideas, 
though  he  believes  that  to-day  the  Englishman  is  the  truest  symbol  of  out-door 
activity  and  love  of  sport,  he  thinks  that  his  criticism  of  our  modern  tourna- 
ments is  most  unfair. 

Lawn-Tennis  in  tournament  play  is  not  a  pastime.  No  sport,  properly 
speaking,  where  the  players  are  doing  their  utmost  to  win,  can  so  be  considered  ; 
the  player  has  Tennis  as  an  object,  an  ambition,  and  not  pour  passer  le  temps.  It 
would  be  a  sad  philosophy,  however,  to  criticise  him  for  doing  his  utmost.  It 
would  merely  tend  to  make  the  game  fall  in  excellence.  If  we  are  to  allow 
any  scope  for  the  attainment  of  our  ideal,  we  have  to  say  that  all  fair  methods 
that  tend  to  a  higher  standard  are  to  be  encouraged  and  devoutly  named — sports- 
manlike.     The  Americans  do  take  the  game  with  a  grave  earnestness,  but  it  is 


The  Theory  of  Play  in  Modern  Lawn -Tennis         2gg 


a  commendable,  sportsmanlike  earnestness,  which  the  writer  believes  has  raised 
the  standard  of  play. 

As  is  natural,  it  is  often  asked  whether  the  American  game  of  to-day  is 
ahead  of  that  of  the  English,  whether  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  position 
in  America  has  advanced  the  standard  ? 
Of  course,  the  only  concrete  answer  to 
such  a  question  is  a  historical  one,  a  com- 
parison of  the  relative  accomplishments 
of  our  players  during  the  past  few  years. 
From  data  each  individual  may  draw  his 
own  conclusion. 

However,  leaving  historical  fact  out 
of  consideration,  and  judging  from  a 
purely  theoretical  point  of  view,  the 
writer  believes  that  the  method  of  play 
to-day  in  this  country  is  more  scientific 
than  that  in  England,  whatever  the  rela- 
tive individual  capabilities  of  the  players 
may  be.  In  other  words,  in  a  competi- 
tion of  ideals  the  American  should  win  ; 
from  his  stronghold  position  near  the  net 
he  should  outplay  his  English  rival,  his 
temperament  supplying  the  extra  nerve- 
energy  required  to  maintain  that  position. 

It  may  be  argued  that  the  Ameri- 
can ideal  is  so  much  more  beyond  the 
realm  ot  physical  possibility  that,  as  a 
practical  style,  it  is  less  expedient  to 
teach.  The  writer  acknowledges  that 
the   American   style  requires  a   far   more 

highly  organized  athlete  than  the  English,  but,  judging  from  personal  experi- 
ence, he  in  no  way  thinks  its  ideal  requires  a  superhuman  physical  make-up.  It 
is  well  adapted  to  the  American  temperament,  and  he  thoroughly  believes  that 
if  the  younger  players  will  but  seek  with  their  utmost  power  to  develop  that 
make-up,  the  American  methods  of  to-day  will  soon  be  universally  adopted. 


R.   D.   Wrenn. 


(^,^^^^4, '^r^?^':^^^^ 


^1 


Mill 


lft\\v''ftl 


The  Everlasting  Attack  of  Wrenn. 


THE  THEORY  OF  THE  MOD- 
ERN GAME  OF  DOUBLES 

BY    HOLCOMBE    WARD 


SK  a  novice  the  difference  between  the  Single  and  the  Double 
game  ot  Lawn-Tennis  and  he  will  doubtless  tell  you  that  in  the 
former  the  rallies  are  long  and  varied,  in  the  latter  short  and 
sharp  ;  ask  an  expert  the  same  question  and  he  will  probably  say 
that  the  difference  is  one  of  strokes,  or  rather  a  difference  in  the 
value  of  strokes.  Both  answers  would  be  right  ;  but  the  second 
goes  deeper  than  the  first ;  it  is  the  cause  of  which  the  first  is  the  effect.  In 
Singles  a  good  ground  stroke  is  quite  necessary;  in  Doubles  the  volley  is  all- 
important.  For  if  there  is  any  doubt  (as  the  present  champion  in  Singles  seems 
to  think)  as  to  the  advisability  oi  the  net  game  in  Singles,  there  is  none  at  all 
in  Doubles  ;  the  one  point  which  is  undeniable  is  that  in  the  latter  the  net  is 
the  objective  point  ;  and  if  two  teams  are  equally  matched,  the  team  which  gets 
to  the  net  the  oftener  and  stays  there  the  longer  should  win.  From  this  as  a 
starting-point,  we  may  consider  the  different  ways  of  getting  to  the  net ;  and 
first  of  all,  how  to  take  the  net  from  one's  opponents. 

In  the  return  of  the  service,  then,  there  are  two  methods  of  attack  by 
which  the  net  may  be  gained — the  lob  or  the  drive.  I  shall  speak  ot  the  lob 
farther  on  ;  here  it  is  enough  to  say  that  the  lob,  to  be  successful,  must  be 
high,  for  the  strikers-out  must  get  firmly  established  at  the  net  before  their 
opponents  can  return  the  ball  ;  and  it  must  be  deep,  or  else  the  servers  will  have 
an  easy  smash.  On  the  first  return  the  ball  should  generally  be  lobbed  at  the 
server's  partner,  because,  as  he  is  nearer  the  net,  it  is  easier  to  lob  over  his  head  ; 
but  even  if  the  ball  is  not  lobbed  so  deep  that  it  bounces — in  other  words, 
even  if  the  servers  can  smash  the  return — it  is  still  a  most  disconcerting  form 
of  attack  to  follow  the  lob  to  the  net. 

In  driving  the  return  of  the  service,  there  are  two  places  open  to  the 
receiver — directly  between  his  opponents  or  toward  the  server ;  in  the  latter 
case  the  ball  should  be  kept  well  out  of  reach  of  the  server's  partner,  for,  stand- 
ing so  close  to  the  net  as  he  does,  he  is  able  to  make  an  almost  sure  "  kill  "  if 
he  can  reach  the  ball.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  drive  straight  down  the 
alley  has  been  practically  discarded  in  Doubles ;  for  such  a  stroke  has  to  be 
very  accurate  or  the  point  is  almost  surely  lost,  and,  moreover,  as  the  net  is 
almost  six  inches  higher  in  the  alley,  the  stroke  is  made  still  more  difficult. 


J02  The  Theory  of  the  Modern    Game  of  Doubles 


The  drive  down  the  centre  is  almost  the  only  passing  stroke  in  Doubles, 
for  the  side  pass,  as  I  have  said,  is  rather  too  risky,  and  the  cross-court  pass  is 
seldom  seen.  But  the  centre  is  the  vulnerable  point  at  which  to  try  a  pass.  On 
the  one  hand,  no  stroke  in  Lawn-Tennis  has  to  be  played  with  more  care  than 

this  one  ;  it  is  harder  to  make  than  the  pass 
in  Singles,  for  there  are  two  opponents  in- 
stead of  one  to  deceive,  and,  moreover,  the 
passing  space  is  smaller ;  the  ball  must  be 
played  very  accurately,  so  that  each  of  the 
opposing  side  may  think  that  his  partner  will 
return  it.  On  the  other  hand,  nothing  is 
more  apt  to  demoralize  a  team  than  tor  their 
opponents  to  find  this  hole  often  ;  they  will 
become  less  confident  and  will  draw  in  closer 
to  the  centre,  thus  making  the  alley  pass 
easy.  Of  course  this  should  not  be  played 
all  the  time  ;  it  should  be  used  judiciously, 
when  one's  opponents  least  expect  it. 

But  the  real  object  is  to  get  to  the  net, 
and  the  best  stroke  for  this  purpose  is  some 
sort  of  a  "  drop  "  stroke  directed  at  the  serv- 
er. It  is  not  absolutely  necessary  that  the 
return  of  the  service  be  a  swift  drive,  for  an 
easy,  slow  cut-stroke  is  often  far  more  de- 
ceptive and  far  more  difficult  to  handle  than 
the  swiftest  drive ;  what  is  essential,  how- 
ever, is  that  the  ball  be  so  played  as  to 
strike  the  ground  as  near  as  possible  to  the 
server's  feet,  thus  preventing  him  from  volleying  the  return  and  causing  him  to 
make  a  half-volley.  This  is  the  whole  theory  in  the  return  of  the  service;  re- 
turn the  ball  at  the  server's  feet,  follow  it  to  the  net,  and  kill  the  server's  nec- 
essarily weak  return.  Theoretically,  then,  if  the  strikers-out  play  their  oppo- 
nents' service  in  this  way,  they  should  win  the  point  on  their  second  stroke. 

We  are  now  ready  to  consider  a  more  important,  and,  I  think,  a  more 
interesting  point  in  the  game.  Ever  since  the  net  game  came  into  existence 
the  servers  have  had  an  advantage  over  the  strikers-out,  winning  a  surprisingly 
large  majority  of  the  games.  But  although  there  has  been  improvement  in  the 
other  strokes — in  the  lob,  the  drive,  the  smash,  and  the  volley — there  has  been 
practically  no  development  in  the  service,  at  least  until  very  lately.  To  most 
players  the  service  means  merely  putting  the  ball  in  play,  as  it  did  ten  years  ago. 


Carr  B.  Neel. 


The  Theory  of  the  Modern    Game  of  Doubles         joj 


Apparently  not  realizing  the  possibilities  of  the  service  and  satisfied  with  their 
advantage  over  the  strikers-out,  players  have  turned  their  attention  toward 
perfecting  their  other  strokes.  Now  all-round  development  is  certainly  worth 
striving  for,  and  it  will  often  bring  success  ;  but  it  is  surely  better  policy  first  to 
strengthen  an  already  strong  defence  until  it  is  in- 
vincible and  then  to  build  up  an  offence  than  to  be 
fairly  good  at  every  point  of  the  game;  for  (to 
adapt  a  familiar  football  maxim)  a  team  with  an 
invincible  service  may  not  win,  but  it  cannot  lose. 
Can  the  advantage,  therefore,  which  the  servers  now 
have  over  the  strikers-out  be  so  increased  as  to 
make  the  service  practically  invincible  ?  And 
in  the  first  place,  what  are  the  necessary  qualities 
of  a  good  service  ?  First  of  all,  the  service  must 
be  well  placed  ;  and,  secondly,  it  must  be  so 
played  as  to  give  the  server  time  enough  in 
which  to  join  his  partner  at  the  net,  tor  if 
the  server  has  time  only  to  reach  the  service- 
line  before  the  ball  is  returned,  his  opponent 
will  play  the  ball  directly  at  his  feet — a  most 
difficult  return  to  make.  An  easy  serve,  fol- 
lowed to  the  net,  which  has  long  been  the 
custom  in  this  country,  gives  the  server 
enough  time  to  get  well  up,  but  it  often 
fails,  because  the  striker-out  can  run  around 
a  slow  serve  if  he  has  a  weaker  backhand, 
and  make  a  swift  forehand  stroke ;  or,  on 
the    other    hand,    he    can    cause    the    server, 

who  is  running  forward  swiftly,  considerable  trouble  by  lobbing  over  his  head. 
A  step  in  advance,  however,  was  taken  a  few  years  ago,  when  it  was  found 
that  using  a  long  swing  in  serving  (the  racket  describing  almost  a  circle)  would 
cause  the  ball  to  take  a  long  high  bound,  thus  forcing  the  receiver  to  stand  several 
feet  behind  the  base-line  and  to  delay  his  stroke  until  the  server  was  well  up  at 
the  net.  Moreover,  from  his  position  it  was  dangerous  for  the  receiver  to 
attempt  to  drive  the  ball,  for,  if  his  opponent  volleyed  the  ball  short,  he  could 
hardly  hope  to  reach  it.  Discovering  before  long,  however,  the  uselessness  of 
attempting  to  drive  the  return  of  such  a  service,  players  began  to  fall  back  on 
the  lob  more.  Now,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  ordinary  team  fears  steady,  deep 
lobbing  more  than  the  swiftest  of  drives  ;  and,  as  lobbing  became  more  frequent 
and  consequently  more  accurate,  the  question  arose  as   to  whether  a  ball   could 


Samuel  R.  Neel. 


^04-  The  Theory  of  the  Modern    Game  of  Doubles 


Davis's  New   Twist  Service,  igoo. 


not  be  so  served  as  to  make  even  lobbing  difficult.  Finally,  after  indifferent 
success,  a  serve  was  tried  which  seemed  to  meet  nearly  all  the  requirements. 
By  using  the  long,  slow  swing,  described  above,  and  by  adding  a  cut,  it  was 
found  that  the  ball  would  curve  slightly  in  the  air,  describing  an  arc  from  right 

to  left ;  on  striking  the  ground  it 
would  "  hang  "  almost  impercepti- 
bly for  a  fraction  of  a  second,  and 
then,  as  it  were,  gaining  new  life, 
"shoot"  out  abruptly  to  the  re- 
ceiver's backhand.  Moreover,  the 
peculiar  twist  imparted  to  the  ball 
made  it  surprisingly  (and  some- 
what amusingly)  difficult  for  one 
unacquainted  with  such  a  service 
to  drive,  and  especially  so  to  lob  ; 
for,  after  touching  the  receiver's 
racket,  the  ball  seemed  to  be  pos- 
sessed with  an  uncontrollable  desire  to  fly  off  to  the  left,  far  out  of  court. 
Incidentally,  at  first  meeting,  the  player  would  generally  attribute  the  erratic 
bounce  to  the  poor  turf,  and  his  inability  to  return  the  ball  within  the  limits 
of  the  court  to  his  inaccuracy,  which  would  quickly  discourage  him.  And  in 
addition  to  this,  it  was  possible  when  serving  in  the  left-hand  court,  to  place 
the  ball  in  the  farther  corner  ;  so  that  the  ball,  bouncing  sharply  several  feet 
out  of  court,  forced  the  striker-out  to  abandon  his  position  in  court  and  follow 
it.  Having  thus  drawn  him  away  from  his  partner,  the  servers  had  an  easy  ace 
to  make  by  playing  their  opponent's  return  directly  between  their  adversaries; 
or  if  the  receiver's  partner,  showing  some  knowledge  of  team  play,  followed 
his  partner  across  the  court,  it  was  easy  to  play  a  neat  cross-court  volley. 

There  is,  moreover,  a  newer  and  stronger  defensive  position  (first  tried,  I 
believe,  by  Messrs.  VVrenn  and  Chace)  which  the  servers  may  assume.  The 
present  method,  of  course,  is  for  the  server  first  to  run  up  in  the  right-hand 
court,  then  in  the  left-hand,  and  so  on  alternately,  his  partner  moving  from  left 
to  right  and  right  to  left.  Instead  of  this,  by  the  newer  method,  the  server's 
partner  takes  up  his  position  almost  directly  on  the  centre  line,  a  few  feet  from 
the  net  and  on  the  same  half  of  the  court  from  which  the  service  is  to  be 
delivered  ;  while  the  server  himself  runs  up  diagonally  from  right  to  left,  or 
from  left  to  right,  as  the  case  may  be.  The  result  is  that  the  receiver,  forced 
to  abandon  his  usual  cross-court  drive  (which  would  go  directly  into  the  hands 
of  the  server's  partner  for  an  easy  ace),  must  change  his  stroke  to  a  drive  straight 
down  the  alley,  to  which  he  is  unaccustomed. 


Dwight  F.  Davis. 

Champion   {with    Ward)    in    Doubles,   l8gg,    igOO. 


Backhand  Ground  Stroke. 


The  Theory  of  the  Modem    Game  of  Doubles         joy 


The  New  Defensive  Position  of  the  Servers. 


Consider,  then,  for  a  moment,  what  possibilities  of  the  service  are  thus 
opened  up.  Theoretically,  the  servers  should  expect  to  win  their  service  as  a 
matter  of  course  ;  the  service  should  mean  merely  a  few  minutes  of  defensive 
play — a  breathing-space  in  which  to  collect  their  strength,  so  that  they  can  play 
a  hard  offensive  game  when  their 
opponents'  turn  to  serve  comes. 
With  the  danger  of  losing  their 
service  removed,  moreover,  it  be- 
comes merely  a  question  of  time 
before  they  will  win,  tor  to  win 
one  game  in  each  set  on  their  op- 
ponents' service  is  all  they  need  to 
take  the  match  ;  and  with  this 
added  confidence  the  problem  be- 
comes a  much  simpler  one. 

With  regard  to  defensive  and 
offensive  play  in  general,  the  theory 

is  to  win  points  when  you  are  at  the  net  and  not  to  lose  them  when  you  are  in  the 
back  court.  It  is  usually  easy  enough  to  win  when  at  the  net ;  the  hardest  part 
is  not  to  throw  away  points  when  in  the  back  court.  It  is  impossible,  ot  course, 
to  lay  down  any  hard  and  fast  rules  as  to  the  kind  of  strokes  to  play  at  different 
times ;  but  a  good  rule  to  follow  is  to  lob  the  deep  balls  and  drive  the  short 
ones.  Continual  driving  from  the  base-line  is  rather  a  waste  of  time,  for  it 
matters  little  how  hard  you  drive  ;  it  is  almost  impossible  to  make  a  clean  pass 
from  far  back,  and  usually  good  voUeyers  prefer  swift  drives  to  slow  ones.  Lob- 
bing, on  the  other  hand,  has  the  twofold  advantage  of  resting  your  own  side  and 
of  tiring  your  opponents,  and  I  know  of  no  more  dangerous  attack  than  well- 
directed  lobbing.  Too  much  of  either  driving  or  lobbing  is  doubtless  a  mis- 
take ;  and  a  variety  of  strokes  is  highly  desirable  with  a  generous  amount  (to 
my  mind  at  least)  of  lobbing. 

With  regard  to  team  play,  without  which  a  team  can  never  excel  at 
Doubles,  probably  less  can  be  written  than  on  other  points  of  the  game.  It  can 
be  secured  by  hard  practice  and  experience  alone.  Two  partners  should  under- 
stand each  other's  style  of  game  thoroughly,  and  should  have  perfect  confidence 
in  each  other.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  discriminate  between  partners ;  they 
should  be  considered  as  a  team  ;  and  whether  they  win  or  lose,  it  is  almost 
always  as  much  the  fault  of  one  as  of  the  other. 

The  Double  game  has  developed  slowly  ;  each  pair  of  champions  has  added 
something  to  the  game,  and  to-day  a  successful  team  must  combine  all  the  les- 
sons which  Campbell   and   Huntington,  Hobart  and  Hovey,  Wrenn  and  Chace, 


^o8  The   Theory  of  the  Modern    Game  of  Doubles 

the  Neel  Brothers,  and  Ware  and  Sheldon  have  taught.  The  development  in 
the  future  is  not  difficult  to  see,  I  think.  We  should  have  a  great  advance  in 
the  service  in  the  next  few  years.  And  to  meet  this  I  look  for  the  development 
of  the  lob  rather  than  of  the  drive  ;  and  to  meet  the  perfected  lob  we  must 
have  an  age  of  players  who  can  smash  well.  When  this  day  comes  the  Double 
game  will  be  at  its  height. 


THE  CHRONOLOGY 
OF  LAWN-TENNIS 

BY  J.    PARMLY    PARET 


AWN-TENNIS  is  essentially  a  modern  game,  having  been  played 
less  than  thirty  years.  It  includes,  however,  many  familiar 
features  borrowed  from  other  older  games  in  which  a  ball  was 
used  ;  and  from  its  similarity  to  Tennis  proper  {i.e.,  Court-Ten- 
nis) it  has  often  been  erroneously  supposed  to  have  been  played 
for  many  centuries.  As  tar  back  as  the  Middle  Ages  the  Italian 
and  French  feudal  kings  and  nobles  played  a  game  which  afterward  developed 
into  Court-Tennis,  and  this  later  became  popular  with  the  common  people  of 
both  Italy  and  France,  in  various  corrupted  forms,  as  giuoco  del/a  palla  and  /<'//  de 
paume.  Originally  played  in  the  open  air,  the  game  was  later  transferred  to 
covered  courts  built  for  the  purpose,  a  crude  out-door  variety  being  preserved 
under  the  name  of  longue  paume  in  France,  and  a  still  ruder  variation  as  pallone 
in  Italy.  The  French  out-door  game  is  believed  to  have  been  the  most  direct 
ancestor  and  immediate  prototype  of  our  modern  Lawn-Tennis. 

Longue  paume  was  played  with  a  cork  ball,  which  was  originally  struck 
with  the  hand,  much  as  in  our  present  game  of  Hand-Ball,  a  bank  of  earth  or 
mud  about  two  feet  high  serving  the  same  purpose  as  our  modern  net.  As  the 
game  grew  in  severity  a  glove  was  used  to  cover  the  hand,  as  is  often  done  to- 
day in  Hand-Ball  ;  then  some  clever  pioneer  introduced  strings  stretched  across 
the  palm  of  the  hand  from  thumb  to  fingers,  and  with  these  the  ball  was  given 
greater  impetus  with  less  impact.  It  was  a  short  jump  from  that  to  a  frame- 
work for  the  strings,  which  was  first  held  in  the  hand,  and  a  handle  for  the 
frame  soon  followed,  forming  the  crude  model  from  which  our  familiar  rackets 
used  in  so  many  ball  games  were  all  evolved. 

The  word  tenez  (meaning  literally  "ready"  or  "prepare"),  as  a  cry  of 
warning  to  announce  the  beginning  of  play,  was  used  in  the  French  game,  just 
as  the  present-day  server  cries  "  play  "  before  the  ball  is  started.  It  is  from  this, 
the  phonetic  sound  of  the  French  word  being  preserved  in  the  translation,  that 
the  modern  English  name  o{  "  Tennis  "  is  supposed  to  have  been  derived. 

It  is  popularly  believed  that  Lawn-Tennis  was  invented  by  Major  Walter 
C.  Wingfield,  of  the  British  army,  but  the  authenticity  of  this  theory  has  been 
seriously  doubted.      Three-quarters   of  a   century  before   Major   Wingfield  made 


310 


The   Chronology  of  Lawn  -  Tennis 


known  his  invention,  reference  is  found  in  an  old  English  publication  to  "  Field- 
Tennis  " — probably  the  French  longue  paume  transported — as  a  dangerous  rival 
to  Cricket,  then  the  reigning  sport  in  England.  A  somewhat  similar  game 
called  "  Long-Tennis" — probably  another  or  possibly  the  same  variation  of  the 
French  game — is  described  in  an  old  English  book  on  sports  published  in   1837. 

Major  Wingheld's  pastime  was  not  seen 
until  1873,  and  still  another  doubt  is 
cast  on  the  originality  of  his  invention 
by  the  members  of  a  certain  club  in 
Leamington,  England,  who  claim  that 
they  had  played  a  similar  game  fifteen 
years  before. 

Whether  original  then  or  not,  it  is 
certain  that  Major  Wingfield  patented 
in  England  in  1874  a  game  which  he 
called  Sphairistike  (meaning  ball  play 
when  literally  translated  from  the  Greek), 
and  the  new  pastime,  immediately  find- 
ing favor  with  the  sport-loving  Britons, 
sprang  into  popularity  within  a  marvel- 
lously short  time.  Sphairistike,  which 
was  the  historical  if  not  the  actual  be- 
ginning of  Lawn-Tennis,  was  played  on 
a  level  stretch  of  grass,  the  court  being 
shaped  like  an  hour-glass,  sixty  feet  in 
length  and  thirty  feet  in  width  at  the 
base-lines.  In  the  centre  was  stretched 
a  net  twenty-one  feet  wide,  the  side-lines  of  the  court  converging  from  the 
ends  of  the  base-lines  to  its  supports.  This  net  was  seven  feet  in  height  at 
the  sides  and  sagged  to  four  feet  eight  inches  in  the  middle.  The  server  was 
required  to  stand  in  a  "box"  marked  out  in  the  centre  of  the  court,  and  only 
he  could  count,  the  score  being  kept  on  the  old  Racquet  system,  fifteen  aces  to 
the  game.  The  play  was  much  like  our  modern  Badminton,  the  shortness  of 
the  court  and  the  height  of  the  net  preventing  speed  in  the  strokes.  During  its 
first  year  Major  Wingfield  made  several  alterations  in  the  rules,  as  the  develop- 
ment of  the  embryonic  skill  of  the  players  required  them.  The  court  was  length- 
ened to  eighty-four  feet  and  widened  to  thirty-six  feet,  the  net  being  lowered 
to  four  feet  in  the  centre,  and  the  server  being  pushed  back  to  the  base-line.  This 
permitted  more  speed  in  the  play  and  greater  skill,  which  were  still  further 
increased  the  following  spring  when  the  court  was  widened  to  thirty-nine  feet. 


J.  A.  Allen. 


The   Chronology  of  Lawn  -  Tennis 


311 


In  the  spring  of  1875  the  first  organized  attempt  was  made  to  govern  the 
game,  which  had  already  begun  to  run  wild  for  lack  of  concerted  legislation. 
The  Marylebone  Cricket  Club,  of  Lords,  afterward  so  famous  in  Cricket,  adopted 
a  code  of  playing  rules  in  which  the  length  of  the  court  was  established  at 
seventy-eight  teet,  where  it  has  remained  ever  since.  The  hour-glass  form  was 
still  preserved,  however,  the  breadth  at 
the  base-lines  being  thirty  feet  and  at  the 
net  twenty-four  feet.  The  net  was  set  at 
four  teet  high  in  the  centre  and  five  teet 
at  the  posts ;  a  service-line  was  intro- 
duced at  twenty-six  feet  from  the  net, 
but  the  Racquet  system  of  scoring  was  pre- 
served, with  one  or  two  minor  alterations. 
It  was  then  that  the  name  of  Lawn- 
Tennis  was  first  attached  to  the  new 
game,  and  Sphairistike  soon  disappeared. 

At  the  urgent  suggestion  of  Henry 
Jones,  one  ot  the  early  devotees  of  Lawn- 
Tennis,  who  afterward  became  famous 
as  the  "  Cavendish  "  of  Whist,  the  new 
sport  was  admitted  in  1875  to  the  lawns 
of  the  All  -  England  Croquet  Club  at 
Wimbledon  (a  suburb  of  London).  The 
first  championship  tournament  was  held 
there  two  years  later,  and  with  it  came 
a  new  set  of  rules,  in  which  were  laid 
down  the  first  principles  ot  the  modern 

game.  Since  then  Wimbledon  has  been  the  Mecca  of  the  best  Lawn-Tennis 
players  throughout  the  world.  The  success  of  that  first  tournament  in  1877  es- 
tablished the  prestige  of  the  All-England  Club,  and  fort  en  years  its  rules  and 
decisions  were  universally  accepted  throughout  Great  Britain.  Under  its  auspices 
an  annual  meeting  of  the  secretaries  of  the  various  Lawn-Tennis  clubs  was  held 
and  all  changes  considered,  until  1888,  when  the  English  Lawn-Tennis  Asso- 
ciation, which  now  governs  the  sport  throughout  Europe,  was  formed. 

In  America,  Lawn-Tennis  first  made  its  appearance  under  the  original  name 
of  Sphairistike  in  1874.  Several  Americans  travelling  abroad  brought  home  sets 
of  Major  Wingfield's  apparatus,  and  they  were  put  up  at  four  or  five  widely  sep- 
arated points,  but  the  distances  between  them  and  the  constantly  changing  rules 
abroad  caused  much  confusion  among  the  early  American  devotees.  Nets  were 
placed  at  diflferent  heights,  balls  varied  as  to  size  and  weight,  and  courts  differed 


E.  P.  Fischer, 


312 


The   Chronology  of  Lawn  -  Tennis 


materially  in  dimensions  for  the  first  two  or  three  years.  In  1881,  however, 
the  United  States  National  Lawn-Tennis  Association  was  organized  in  New 
York,  and  for  the  first  time  uniform  rules  were  adopted  for  use  in  America. 
The  English    code  was  accepted    in    its   entirety,  and   English-made   balls  were 

agreed  upon  tor  tournament  use.  Since 
then  the  Association  has  held  undisputed 
jurisdiction,  and  the  playing  rules  have 
been  amended  from  time  to  time,  al- 
though most  of  the  changes  have  been 
similar  to  those  made  abroad. 

The  original  championship  rules 
of  the  All-England  Club,  as  adopted  in 
1877  for  the  first  tournament,  trans- 
formed the  court  from  the  original  hour- 
glass to  the  present  rectangular  form, 
and  substituted  the  Tennis  system  ot 
scoring,  which  still  remains  in  vogue, 
for  the  old  Racquet  system.  The  size 
of  the  court  was  set  at  seventy-eight  by 
twenty-seven  feet,  and  these  dimensions 
have  since  remained  unchanged,  though 
the  service-line,  the  service-rule,  and  the 
height  of  the  net  have  all  been  subject 
to  frequent  legislation.  Originally  the 
service-line  was  placed  at  twenty-six  teet 
from  the  net,  but  the  first  revision  of  the  All-England  rules  a  year  later  reduced 
this  to  twenty-two  feet,  and  in  1880  the  distance  was  still  further  reduced  an- 
other foot,  to  its  present  position  at  twenty-one  feet  from  the  net.  The  net 
itself  was  placed  at  first  by  the  All-England  Club  at  three  feet  three  inches  in 
the  centre  and  five  feet  at  the  supports.  The  second  year  saw  a  three-inch  re- 
duction at  each  point,  and  the  centre  has  remained  since  at  the  same  height. 
The  ends  were  gradually  lowered  as  the  supports  became  stronger  and  the  need 
for  faster  side-line  placing  to  stop  the  volleyers  became  apparent,  until  1883, 
when  the  present  height  of  three  feet  six  inches  was  reached. 

The  rule  governing  the  service  has  undergone  many  important  changes, 
however,  and  still  remains  open  to  question.  The  intention  from  the  start  has 
been  to  require  the  server  to  deliver  the  ball  while  standing  at  the  base-line,  and 
no  strict  rule  was  necessary  until  the  advantage  of  net  play  was  developed.  The 
server  then  began  to  hurry  away  from  the  base-line  so  soon  after  serving  that  it 
became  necessary  to  curb  his  haste.      In  his  hurry  to  get  to  a  position  where  he 


Richard  Stevens. 


Holcombe  Ward. 


Champion   (with    Davis)    in    Doubles,    l8gg,    igoo. 


The   Chronology  of  Lawn  -  Tennis 


3^5 


F.  B.  Alexander  and  R.  D.  Little. 


could  volley  the  first  return  of  his  opponent,  the  server  frequently  overstepped 
the  base-line,  and  ever  since  net  play  came  into  vogue  the  service-rule  has  been 
constantly  threatened,  if  not  violated,  by  the  net  players.  One  definition  after 
another  has  been  substituted  and  amended,  but  the  friction  still  continues,  the 
recurrence  of  the  "  foot-fault  "  difficul- 
ties following  each  ot  the  various  defi- 
nitions of  the  server's  position.  Even 
to-day  the  laws  governing  this  point  in 
England  and  America  do  not  agree. 
Abroad,  the  server  is  required  to  put 
his  forward  toot  on  the  base-line  in 
serving,  while  under  American  rules 
both  feet  must  be  behind  the  line. 

The  evolution  of  the  play  trom 
Major  Wingfield's  primitive  pastime  to 
the  skill  of  the  present  day  has  been 
gradual  and  consistent.  Of  the  first  few 
years  of  the  crude  Sphairistike  little  need 
be  said,  for  the  development  of  the  play 
really  began  with  the  adoption  of  the 
rectangular   court    and   the    use   of    the 

service-line  in  1877.  The  high,  sagging  net,  so  much  lower  in  the  centre  than 
at  the  sides,  made  it  nearly  impossible  to  pass  a  volleyer  along  the  side-lines,  and 
one  of  the  earliest  of  the  English  experts,  Spencer  W.  Gore,  won  the  first  Eng- 
lish championship  by  volleying  his  opponents'  returns.  The  next  year,  before 
other  players  could  profit  by  this  kind  of  play,  however,  P.  F.  Hadow  intro- 
duced the  lob,  and  what  seemed  then  to  be  the  death-knell  of  volleying  was 
sounded. 

An  English  historian  has  aptly  described  the  next  three  years  as  the  "  era 
of  pat-ball."  Many  players  learned  to  return  the  ball  with  great  certainty  though 
little  speed,  and  the  defence  was  developed  so  far  beyond  the  attack  that  the 
"  rests  "  became  long  and  monotonous,  some  of  the  matches  depending  almost  as 
much  on  endurance  as  skill.  H.  F.  Lawford  was  one  of  these  unerring  players, 
and  he  was  the  first  to  combine  enough  speed  with  accuracy  of  return  to  give  his 
strokes  a  dangerous  attacking  power.  He  developed  a  very  fast  forehand  drive 
off  the  ground,  which  became  famous  in  Lawn-Tennis  history  as  the  "  Lawford 
stroke,"  but,  contrary  to  popular  impression,  no  other  player  ever  learned  to  use 
it,  either  in  his  day  or  since.  Just  when  Lawford's  style  threatened  to  annihi- 
late all  his  adversaries  came  the  advent  of  the  famous  Renshaw  brothers,  who 
made   use   of  the  discarded  volley  once   more,  and  with   better   results.      How- 


ji6 


The  Chronology  of  Lawn  -  Tennis 


ever,  the  Renshaws  did  not  come  so  close  to  the  net  as  had  Gore  before  them, 
volleying  from  about  the  service-line,  but  they  introduced  smashing  as  a  protec- 
tion against  the  lob.  This  new  stroke  for  many  years  was  known  only  as  the 
"  Renshaw  smash,"  and  at  the  time  it  seemed   to   end  the  usefulness  of  lobbing, 

which  had  always  stopped  former  vol- 
leyers.  W.  Renshaw's  success  was  at 
first  overwhelming,  but  a  further  re- 
duction in  the  height  of  the  net  made 
the  volleying  position  less  secure,  and 
the  increase  of  Lawtord's  terrilic  speed 
in  ground  strokes  nearly  evened  matters 
up,  so  that  every  meeting  between  these 
two  famous  old  rivals  furnished  another 
battle  of  styles,  with  the  result  trem- 
bling in  the  balance.  For  nearly  ten 
years  this  duel  continued,  Lawtord  and 
one  or  two  other  fast  ground  -  stroke 
players  constantly  struggling  to  stop  the 
onslaught  of  the  Renshaws  and  a  few 
imitators.  Each  side  maintained  that, 
properly  played,  its  own  style  must  nec- 
essarily win  in  the  end.  Lawford  de- 
clared that  when  he  was  beaten  by  a 
volleyer  it  was  due  to  his  own  errors, 
and  that  a  volleyer  could  always  be 
passed  by  a  good  stroke.  Renshaw 
claimed  that  if  he  was  passed  at  the  net,  it  was  because  he  had  come  up  on 
too  weak  a  return,  and  that  if  his  attack  were  preceded  by  an  aggressive 
ground  stroke,  he  was  always  safe  in  a  position  to  volley.  To  this  day  the  same 
controversy  exists  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  although  the  advocates  of  vol- 
leying would  seem  to  have  had  the  better  of  the  argument  from  the  much 
greater  frequency  that  their  names,  from  Renshaw  to  Doherty,  and  from  Camp- 
bell to  Wrenn,  appear  on  the  lists  of  championship  holders. 

In  America  the  development  of  the  play  has  gone  through  a  much  similar 
experience.  Two  or  three  of  the  earliest  American  pioneers  in  the  field  of 
skill,  notably  Sears  and  Dwight,  spent  their  winters  abroad  and  learned  from 
the  early  English  masters  the  style  that  was  most  successful  there.  Renshaw's 
tactics  were  as  closely  imitated  over  here  by  R.  D.  Sears,  the  first  American 
champion,  as  his  lesser  skill  permitted,  and  they  were  even  more  successful 
against  the  less  formidable  rivalry  that  the  American  had  to  meet  at  home. 


L.   E.   Ware. 


The  Chronology  of  Lawn  -  Tennis 


317 


During  the  first  seven  years  of  American  Lawn-Tennis  he  was  invincible. 
In  the  first  three  (1881-83)  he  played  through  each  tournament  at  Newport, 
and  each  season  won  the  championship  without  the  loss  of  a  set.  In  1884  the 
present  system  of  barring  the  champion  out  of  the  all-comers'  tournament  was 
adopted,  and  Sears  successfully  defended 
his  title  against  H.  A.  Taylor,  who  was 
the  first  challenger  for  the  American 
championship.  Sears  beat  Taylor  rather 
easily  by  three  sets  to  o\\(t,  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  repeated  his  success  over 
G.  M.  Brinley,  who  was  the  second 
challenger.  In  1886  R.  L.  Beeckman 
won  the  Newport  tournament  and  chal- 
lenged in  turn .  for  the  championship 
title.  Again  was  Sears  invincible,  Beeck- 
man meeting  the  same  fate  as  both  of  his 
predecessors,  although  he  forced  the 
champion  to  the  first  close  match  he 
had  to  play  at  Newport.  A  year  later 
H.  W.  Slocum,  Jr.,  challenged  for  the 
title,  and  he  was  badly  beaten  by  Sears 
in  straight  sets,  although  he  had  beaten 
all  of  the  other  leading  players  of  the 
country   in   the  all-comers'  tournament. 

Sears's  reign  ended  in  1888,  when 
he  voluntarily  relinquished  his  claim  to 
the  American  championship.  He  had  injured  his  shoulder  and  neck  somewhat 
and  was  forced  to  give  up  tournament  play.  Slocum  won  at  Newport  again  and 
took  the  championship  by  default  in  Sears's  absence.  Thus  began  the  second 
era  in  American  Lawn-Tennis.  Slocum's  "  tenure  of  ofiice  "  lasted  only  two  years. 
In  1889  Q.  A.  Shaw,  Jr.,  won  the  all-comers'  and  was  beaten  three  sets  to  one 
by  Slocum  in  the  challenge  round,  but  a  year  later  O.  S.  Campbell,  who  had 
been  runner-up  to  Shaw  the  year  before,  earned  the  right  to  challenge  51ocum, 
and  managed  to  wrest  the  championship  title  from  him  by  three  sets  to  one. 

Campbell's  innovation  of  extreme  net  play  inaugurated  the  first  of  several 
experimental  stages  American  players  had  to  go  through.  As  Mr.  Whitman 
has  pointed  out,  he  cultivated  volleying  far  beyond  ground  strokes,  and  even  went 
so  far  in  his  haste  to  reach  the  net  as  to  return  the  service  as  the  ball  was  still 
rising.  His  methods  were  startlingly  successful  at  home,  and  they  proved  invin- 
cible during  the  three  years  while  he  was  on  top.    In  1891  Clarence  Hobart  chal- 


George   P.   Sheldon. 


J/c? 


The  Chronology  of  Lawn  -  Tennis 


lenged  Campbell  for  the  championship,  and  was  beaten  in  a  five-set  match,  and 
the  following  year  F.  H.  Hovey,  of  Boston,  met  a  similar  fate,  although  only 
four  sets  were  required  this  time  to  settle  the  question  of  supremacy. 

Campbell  played  abroad  in   1892,  but  his  distorted  style  of  volleying  with- 
out the  backing  of  good  ground  strokes  made  little  headway  against  the  English- 

and. 


men. 


although    he    succeeded    in 


retaining  his  championship  title  on  his  re- 
turn home,  other  American  players  were 
convinced  that  he  could  be  beaten  by 
better  passing  strokes.  With  the  steady 
improvement  in  ground  strokes  that  was 
being  made,  this  extreme  net  play  could 
not  long  have  remained  successful,  but 
other  volleyers  followed  soon  after  with 
better  backing.  The  following  sum- 
mer R.  D.  Wrenn  won  the  all-comers' 
tournament,  beating  Hovey  very  unex- 
pectedly in  the  finals,  but,  before  the 
challenge  match  could  be  played,  Camp- 
bell announced  his  retirement,  so  the 
championship  passed  into  Wrenn's  hands 
by  default.  Wrenn  was  another  volleyer, 
but  with  a  good  command  also  of 
ground  strokes,  and  he  steadily  improved 
his  methods  as  well  as  his  strokes.  He 
was  a  strategist  of  the  rarest  kind,  and  it 
was  he  who  first  worked  out  the  prin- 
ciple of  forcing  the  centre  of  the  court  in  order  to  improve  the  safety  of  his 
position  at  the  net;  before  that,  it  had  been  the  custom  to  run  in  on  drives  to 
the  extreme  corners.  Wrenn  may  reasonably  be  said  to  have  been  the  pioneer 
of  the  modern  net  play  of  the  American  type,  just  as  W.  Renshaw  was  the  pro- 
totype of  the  present  English  style. 

The  modern  era  in  America  began  with  Wrenn's  advent  in  1893,  but  the 
power  of  his  style  was  not  fully  appreciated  until  the  following  season,  when  M. 
F.  Goodbody,  an  Irish  expert  of  considerable  skill,  played  triumphantly  through 
the  Newport  all-comers'  tournament,  beating  one  after  another  of  the  crack 
American  players.  Hovey,  Hobart,  and  W.  A.  Larned — then  considered  the 
pick  of  thecountry's  experts,  outside  of  the  champion — were  all  beaten  in  turn  by 
Goodbody,  and  each  after  five  sets  that  showed  the  winning  value  of  steadiness 
and  the  dangers   of  intermittent  brilliancy  of  the   type  which    so    many   clever 


Beals  C.   Wright. 


The  Chronology/  of  Lawn  -  Tennis 


319 


Americans  have  shown.  When  Goodbody  challenged  Wrenn,  however,  it  was 
a  different  story,  and  the  persistent  resourceful  methods  of  the  American  cham- 
pion showed  his  style  of  net  play  to  be  a  distinct  advance  over  the  former  American 
school.  Wrenn  saved  the  championship  for  his  country  by  beating  Goodbody 
three  sets  to  one.  Hovey  had  learned  the  lesson  which  Goodbody's  success 
taught  better  than  his  rivals  by  the 
time  the  next  championship  tournament 
came  around,  and  his  already  brilliant 
ability,  both  in  volleying  and  playing  off 
the  ground,  had  been  supplemented  by 
an  unexpected  steadiness.  Winning  the 
tournament  with  the  careless  loss  of 
only  one  set  to  an  inferior  player,  Hovey 
challenged  Wrenn  and  beat  him  in 
straight  sets.  While  there  is  little  doubt 
that  the  former  champion's  lack  ot  prac- 
tice handicapped  him  a  good  deal  in  that 
championship  match  of  1895,  I  still  be- 
lieve that  Hovey  showed  then  the  high- 
est cultivation  of  brilliant  yet  consistent 
play  that  has  ever  been  seen  in  this 
country.  He  cannot  be  considered  the 
greatest  of  American  players,  however, 
for  he  never  again  showed  the  same  skill, 
either  before  or  after.  The  following 
summer  Wrenn  challenged  him  again 
for  the  championship,  and   recovered  it 

after  a  five-set  match  in  which  steadiness  again  triumphed  over  brilliancy. 
Wrenn's  career  through  the  all-comers'  tournament  that  season  was  even  more 
sensational  than  that  of  Goodbody's,  two  years  before,  for  no  less  than  tour  times 
he  seemed  hopelessly  beaten,  only  to  pull  out  of  each  difficult  situation  a  victor, 
and  to  finally  capture  the  highest  honors  by  virtue  of  the  most  persistent  steadiness. 
In  1897  the  American  season  was  made  memorable  by  the  visit  to  Ameri- 
can courts  of  a  team  of  British  players  composed  of  Dr.  W.  V.  Eaves,  H.  S. 
Mahony,  and  H.  A.  Nisbet.  They  were  beaten  in  two  international  tourna- 
ments held  at  Hoboken  and  Chicago,  and  also  in  an  open  event  at  Longwood, 
before  the  championship  meeting  at  Newport.  Here  Eaves  beat  Nisbet  in  the 
finals,  and  Mahony  was  retired  in  an  earlier  round  by  M.  D.  Whitman,  who 
then  showed  his  first  glimpse  of  championship  form.  Again  was  Wrenn,  the 
champion,  called   on   to   defend   the  national   honors  against  a  challenging  Eng- 


R.   P.   Huntington. 


320 


The  Chronohgj/  of  Lawn  -  Tennis 


lishman,  and  again  he  succeeded  in  defeating  the  foreigner.  The  same  aggres- 
sive net  play,  which  had  improved  since  he  first  won  the  title,  helped  the  Ameri- 
can to  victory,  and  when  the  fifth  set  of  that  memorable  struggle  was  reached, 

Wrenn  was  much  the  stronger  and  surer, 
and  won  with  a  margin  to  spare,  his  per- 
sistent net  play  being  irresistible  at  the 
end  of  the  hard  struggle. 

When  the  war  with  Spain  broke 
out  a  year  later,  both  Wrenn  and  Larned 
were  among  the  volunteers  who  went  to 
the  front  in  Cuba.  In  their  absence 
the  younger  generation  of  American  ex- 
perts had  matters  very  much  their  own 
way,  and  Whitman  loomed  up  out  of 
the  group  as  the  steadiest  and  in  many 
respects  the  cleverest.  He  won  the  New- 
port tournament  after  one  or  two  close 
matches,  and  so  fell  heir  to  the  cham- 
pionship title  in  the  absence  of  Wrenn. 
Although  he  improved  steadily.  Whit- 
man was  a  master  of  defence  from  the 
first,  and  his  defensive  tactics,  never  of 
the  safety,  lobbing  kind  shown  by  M.  G. 
Chace  and  A.  E.  Foote  before  him,  became  gradually  more  aggressive.  His 
is  surely  the  most  brilliant  defensive  game  ever  seen  in  America,  although  his 
attack  cannot  be  considered  as  strong  as  that  shown  by  Wrenn,  Larned,  Davis, 
and  possibly  one  or  two  others.  His  game  is  best  described  as  aggressively 
defensive,  and  the  advantage  of  such  a  defence  over  any  but  the  most  perfect 
attack  has  been  amply  demonstrated  by  the  remarkable  record  of  the  present 
champion  for  the  last  three  years  since  he  first  won  the  title. 

Whitman  made  a  wonderful  record  during  1898,  1899,  and  1900,  playing 
steadily  through  all  of  the  most  important  American  and  Canadian  tournaments 
during  the  three  seasons,  and  losing  only  three  matches  the  first  year,  none  the 
second,  and  one  the  third.  When  one  considers  the  heavier  opposition  he  had 
to  encounter,  this  is  certainly  a  greater  achievement  than  anything  Accomplished 
by  Sears  in  the  early  days  of  the  game,  and  nearly  if  not  quite  equal  to  the 
record  of  R.  F.  Doherty,  the  contemporary  phenomenon  of  the  English  courts. 
Whitman's  ability  was  not  fully  appreciated  the  first  year,  for  the  absence  of 
Wrenn  and  Larned,  the  previous  stars,  was  taken  as  a  sign  of  deterioration  in 
the  standards   of  play,  but  when  they  re-entered  the  lists  afterward,  and  could 


J.   C.  Davidson. 


The  Chronology  of  Lawn  -  Tennis 


321 


not  win  back  their  laurels  from  the  new-comer,  it  was  apparent  that  progress  and 
not  retrogression  had  been  made.  The  season  of  1899  was  Whitman's  most  re- 
markable one,  for  he  not  only  did  not  lose  a  single  match,  but  was  not  once 
forced   close  in  tournament  play.     With 

unbroken  success  he  defended   all  of  the  ^^"'  ~^\-^ 

many   challenge    cups    he  had   won   the  / 

previous  year,  and  when  he  prepared  to 
defend  his  championship  title  he  was 
considered  invincible.  The  all-comers' 
tournament  had  a  rather  sensational  end- 
ing that  year,  since  lirst  honors  were  won 
by  one  of  the  players  from  whom  such 
skill  was  least  expected.  J.  P.  Paret 
was  the  unexpected  winner,  after  playing 
a  number  of  sensational  matches,  in  which 
the  old  lesson  of  steadiness  was  repeated 
once  more,  his  persistent  steadiness  pull- 
ing him  out  of  many  deep  holes.  Paret's 
style  was  the  reverse  of  Whitman's,  for 
his  play  is  best  defined  as  defensively  ag- 
gressive, since  he  used  the  advanced  net 
methods  of  volleying  attack,  but  with  so 
much  caution  and  safety  as  to  often  take 

the  edge  off  his  attack.  After  beating  D.  F.  Davis  in  the  finals,  he  challenged 
the  champion,  and  was  beaten  three  sets  to  one,  succeeding  little  better  than  any 
of  Whitman's  previous  antagonists  of  that  year. 

The  season  of  i  900  was  made  doubly  memorable  by  the  first  officially  rec- 
ognized international  matches  in  the  sport.  Through  the  generosity  of  D.  F. 
Davis  an  international  challenge  cup  was  offered  and  an  English  team  was  sent 
to  America  to  challenge  for  the  new  trophy.  This  was  composed  of  A.  W. 
Gore,  E.  D.  Black,  and  H.  R.  Barrett,  Black  being  a  Scotchman  and  the  other 
two  English  players  of  high  rank  at  home.  The  international  matches  took 
place  at  Longwood  during  the  first  week  in  August,  and  the  poor  showing  of 
the  challengers  was  a  surprise  to  all,  even  to  the  defenders  themselves.  Gore, 
the  captain  of  the  team,  was  beaten  6 — 2,  6 — 3,  6 — i,  by  Whitman,  and  Black 
three  sets  to  one  by  Davis.  Davis  and  Ward,  the  American  champions  in  Doub- 
les, won  in  straight  sets  over  Black  and  Barrett,  the  challengers,  and  when  a 
thunder-shower  interrupted  the  third  day's  play,  the  last  matches  were  abandoned, 
since  the  majority  of  the  five  originally  scheduled  had  already  been  won  by  the 
American  defenders  of  the  trophy. 


y.  Parmly  Paret. 


pp 


322 


The  Chronology  of  Lawn  -  Tennis 


Two  of  the  foreigners,  Gore  and  Black,  were  also  entered  for  the  cham- 
pionship event  at  Newport,  but  made  a  poor  showing  there.  Black  was  forced 
to  the  full   five  sets  by  both   Sumner   Hardy  and  C.  R.  Budlong,  and  then  suc- 


Krieg  Collins. 


George  F.   Whitney. 


cumbed  easily  to  his  fellow-visitor.  Gore.  The  latter  required  the  full  five  sets 
to  beat  Holcombe  Ward,  and  then  went  down  before  G.  L.  Wrenn,  Jr.,  who  in 
turn  was  unable  to  get  a  set  in  the  finals  from  Larned.  All  four  of  these  Amer- 
ican players,  whose  form  seemed  about  even  with  the  skill  shown  at  Newport 
by  the  Britishers,  were  rated  as  second-class  in  America,  and  the  British  players 
did  not  meet  any  of  the  first-class  American  experts  in  the  championships. 
Three  of  the  four  first-class  players  were  drawn  on  the  same  side,  and  after 
B.  C.  Wright  had  beaten  Davis  in  a  sensational  five-set  match,  he  lost  to  Larned 
in  four  sets  of  brilliant  play,  and  then  Larned  won  the  all-comers'  easily  and 
challenged  Whitman.  Again  the  champion  proved  invincible,  and,  although 
Larned's  brilliancy  carried  off  the  second  set  in  fine  style,  his  spasmodic  attack 
finally  broke  down  before  Whitman's  wonderful  defence,  and  the  champion  re- 
tained his  honors  without  great  difficulty.  This  was  his  third  successive  vic- 
tory for  the  title,  and  it  gave  him  possession  of  the  fourth  American  cham- 
pionship challenge  cup,  its  predecessors  having  been  captured  by  Sears,  Campbell, 
and  Wrenn. 


>> 


s     I 


^ 


^ 


Miss  Myrtle  McAteer. 


\ 


77;*?  Chronology  of  Lawn  -  Tennis 


J 


^^^5 


In  the  meantime  the  progress  in  Doubles  has  been  even  greater  than  in 
Singles.  During  the  first  seven  years  of  American  Lawn-Tennis,  Sears  and 
Dwight  were  practically  invincible,  and,  except  for  the  first  year,  when  a  Phila- 


Samuel  Hardy. 


C.  Sumner  Hardy. 


delphia  team  carried  off  the  honors,  and  one  intermediate  season  when  J.  S. 
Clark  was  substituted  as  Sears's  partner  in  Dwight's  absence,  the  famous  pair 
won  the  championship  in  consecutive  years.  When  Sears  retired,  the  title  fell 
to  Campbell  and  V.  G.  Hall,  who  were  succeeded  the  following  year  by  Slocum 
and  H.  A.  Taylor,  after  which  Hall  and  Hobart  won  the  title. 

The  modern  fast  net  game  in  Doubles,  however,  was  first  introduced  by 
Campbell  and  R.  P.  Huntington,  Jr.,  when  they  won  the  championship  in  1891 
and  1892.  Hobart  and  Hovey  developed  faster  ground  strokes  the  next  year 
and  held  the  position  of  honor  for  two  seasons,  but  were  forced  to  relinquish 
their  hold  on  the  title  in  1895  to  Wrenn  and  Chace,  who  introduced  high  and 
constant  lobbing  into  the  game.  The  Neel  brothers  used  the  same  methods  but 
volleyed  faster  at  the  net  and  wrested  the  title  from  their  predecessors,  and  L.  E. 
Ware  and  G.  P.  Sheldon,  Jr.,  who  followed  them,  played  the  same  game,  only  faster. 


J26 


The  Chronology  of  Lawn  -  Tennis 


The  advent  of  Davis  and  Ward,  the  present  champion  pair,  came  in  1898, 
and  with  them  came  the  new  twist  service  and  still  higher  lobbing  for  de- 
fence. They  were  the  challengers  for  the  championship  that  year,  and  in  the 
fifth  set  ot  the  championship  match  were  several  times  within  a  single  stroke 

of  winning  the  title  from  Ware  and  Sheldon, 
only  to  finally  lose.  In  1899,  however,  their 
skill  had  improved  materially,  while  Sheldon 
had  "  gone  back  "  badly,  and  Ware's  play  also 
suffered  from  lack  of  practice.  Davis  and 
Ward  then  had  an  easy  victory,  and  in  1900 
they  were  again  successful  in  their  defence, 
winning  the  championship  title  for  the  sec- 
ond year  in  straight  sets  from  R.  D.  Little 
and  F.  B.  Alexander,  their  challengers,  al- 
though all  three  sets  were  close. 

The  principal  features  of  the  Doubles 
game,  as  shown  by  the  champions,  are  the  fast 
twist  service,  the  fast  smashing  attack  at  the 
net,  the  short  cross-court  stop-volleys,  and  the 
extreme  lobbing  defence  when  driven  away 
from  their  favorite  net  position.  Another 
play  which  Davis  and  Ward  have  introduced 
to  turn  the  defence  into  an  attack  is  running 
in  under  very  high,  deep  lobs  and  volleying 
the  opponents'  returns.  Their  constant  suc- 
cess during  the  last  two  or  three  years  over  all 
other  American  teams,  and  their  decisive  vic- 
tory last  season  over  the  English  challengers, 
has  proven  the  efficiency  of  these  methods. 

Among  women  in  America,  Lawn- 
Tennis  has  not  been  as  prosperous  as  abroad. 
American  women  have  always  played  the 
game  for  recreation  and  pastime,  but  a  much  smaller  proportion  of  them  have 
excelled  at  it  than  abroad.  The  women's  championship  tournaments  have  al- 
ways been  held  in  Philadelphia,  where  the  greatest  interest  seems  to  lie.  For 
the  first  three  years  (1887-89)  the  title  was  won  each  season  by  Philadelphians  ; 
then  the  New  Yorkers  took  a  turn,  and  tor  many  years  their  names  were  the 
most  prominent  on  the  championship  tables.  During  the  last  two  years,  how- 
ever, the  title  has  been  won  by  women  from  other  sections  of  the  country,  the 
Westerners  becoming  more  prominent  each  season. 


Miss  Juliette   P.   Atkinson. 


The  Chronologic  of  Lawn  -  Tennis 


327 


The  former  challenge  trophy  known  as  the  "  Wissahickon  Cup,"  which  in 
reality  was  a  silver  cake-basket,  had  a  checkered  career.  It  was  won  twice  each 
by  Miss  Bertha  Townsend  and  Miss  Mabel  Cahill,  and  one  year  each  by  five 
others,  before  it  was  finally  captured  for  the  third  time  by  Miss  Juliette  Atkin- 
son, of  Brooklyn.  In  many  respects.  Miss  At- 
kinson was  the  greatest  ot  American  woman 
Lawn-Tennis  players.  She  was  very  short 
and  slight,  yet  her  strokes  showed  much  power 
and  her  strategy  and  "  head-work  "  were  of 
the  best.  For  two  seasons,  1897  and  1898, 
she  won  practically  all  of  the  championship 
titles  throughout  the  country  and  most  of  the 
minor  tournaments  as  well.  Miss  Marion 
Jones,  ot  California,  made  her  first  Eastern 
appearance  in  1898,  and  at  Philadelphia  was 
then  four  times  within  a  single  stroke  of  beat- 
ing Miss  Atkinson  for  the  championship.  In 
1899  she  won  the  title  by  default  from  the 
former  holder,  but  the  following  year,  being 
abroad,  she  defaulted  to  the  challenger.  Miss 
Myrtle  McAteer,  of  Pittsburg,  the  present 
holder  of  the  championship. 

Miss  Jones's  return  to  America  has  been 
the  signal  for  a  general  revival  of  tournament 
play  among  women.  She  came  back  full  of 
enthusiasm,  and  with  some  new  ideas  gath- 
ered from  her  English  experiences,  and  im- 
mediately her  enthusiasm  began  to  spread. 
She   interested  many  of  those  who   had    been 

prominent  in   previous  American   tournaments,  and  there  promised  to  be  more 
competition  and  increased  interest  among  women  players  in  consequence. 

The  lack  of  tournament  play  has  always  been  due  to  the  absence  of  com- 
petitors, for  women's  events  have  repeatedly  been  announced  for  American  tour- 
naments, and  then  abandoned  for  lack  of  entries.  The  dearth  of  tournament 
players  made  it  impossible  to  fill  the  lists.  In  Philadelphia,  in  Brooklyn,  in 
Chicago,  at  Staten  Island,  in  Boston,  and  in  other  places,  there  are  many  skilful 
women  players,  but  there  seems  to  have  been  a  general  reluctance  to  play  in 
tournaments  at  other  places  than  near  their  own  homes. 


Miss  Marion   'Jones. 


f- 


^ 


THE  CHAMPIONSHIP  RECORD 


88i  . 

882. 

8S3. 

884. 

885. 

886. 

887. 

888. 

889 

890. 

891  . 

892. 

893- 
894. 
895. 
896. 
897. 
898. 
899. 

900  . 


ChjiT 

R.  D. 
.  R.  D. 
.  R.  D. 

R.  D. 

R.  D. 
,  R.  D. 
.R.  D. 
.H.  W 
.  H.  W 
.  O.  S. 
.  O.  S. 
.  O.  S. 
.R.  D. 
.  R.  D. 
.  F.  H. 
.  R.  D. 
.  R.  D. 
.  M.  D 
.  M.  D 
.  M.  D 


MEN'S  SINGLES. 

Winner  of  All-comers'.  Runner-up. 

.  R.  D.  Sears .  .  W.  E.  Glyn. 

.R.  D.  Sears C.  M.  Clark. 

.  R.  D.  Sears James  D wight. 

.  H.  A.  Tavlor .  .  .  W.  V.  S.  Thome. 


pion. 

Sears 

Sears 

Sears 

Sears 

Sears G.   M.  Brinley W.  P.  Knapp. 

Sears R.  L.  Beeckman H.  A.  Taylor. 

Sears H.  W.  Slocum,  Jr H.  A.  Taylor. 

.  Slocum,  |r H.  W.  Slocum,  Jr H.  A.  Taylor. 

.  Slocum,  Jr Q-  A.  Shaw,  Jr O.  S.  Campbell. 

Campbell O.  S.  Campbell W.  P.  Knapp. 

Campbell Clarence  Hobart F.  H.  Hovey. 

Campbell F.  H.  Hovey W.  A.  Larned. 

Wrenn R.  D.  Wrenn F.  H.  Hovey. 

Wrenn M.  F.  Goodbody W.  A.  Larned. 

Hovey F.  H.  Hovey : W.  A.  Larned. 

Wrenn R.  D.  Wrenn W.  A.  Larned. 

Wrenn Dr.  W.  V.  Eaves H.  A.  Nisbet. 

.  Whitman M.  D.  Whitman D.  F.  Davis. 

Whitman J.  P.  Paret D.  F.  Davis. 

.  Whitman W.  A.  Larned G.  L.  Wrenn,  Jr. 


MEN'S    DOUBLES. 


882. 
883. 
884. 
885. 
886. 
887. 


890. 


.  C.   M.  Clark  and  F.  W.  Taylor. 

.  R.  D.  Sears  and  James  Dwight. 

.  R.  D.  Sears  and  James  Dwight. 

.  R.  D.  Sears  and  James  Dwight. 

.  R.  D.  Sears  and  J.  S.  Clark. 

.  R.   D.  Sears  and  |ames  Dwight. 

.  R.  D.  Sears  and  James  Dwight. 

.0.  S.  Campbell  and  V.  G.  Hall. 

.H.  W.  Slocum,  Jr.,  and  H.  A.  Taylor. 

.  V.  G.  Hall  and  Clarence  Hobart. 


892 

893 

894 
895 


899. 
900  . 


.  O.  S.  Campbell  and  R.  P.  Huntington. 
,  .  O.  S.  Campbell  and  R.  P.  Huntington. 

.Clarence  Hobart  and  F.  H.  Hovey. 

.  Clarence  Hobart  and  F.  H.  Hovey. 
.  .M.  G.  Chace  and  R.  D.  Wrenn. 
.  .C.  B.  Neel  and  S.  R.  Neel. 
.  .  L.  E.  Ware  and  G.   P.  Sheldon,  Jr. 
,  .  L.   E.  Ware  and  G.  P.  Sheldon,  Jr. 
.  .  D.  F.  Davis  and  Holcombe  Ward. 

.  D.   F.   Davis  and  Holcombe  Ward. 


WOMEN'S    SINGLES. 


1887.. 

.  .  Miss  Alice  Hansell. 

1888.. 

.  .  Miss  Bertha  Townsend. 

1889. . 

.  .  Miss  Bertha  Townsend. 

1890. . 

.  .  Miss  Ellen  C.  Roosevelt, 

I89I . . 

..Miss  Mabel  E.  Cahill. 

1892. . 

.  .  Miss  Mabel  E.  Cahill. 

1893.. 

.  .Miss  Aline  M.  Terry. 

1894. 

.  .  .Miss  Helena  R.  HelKvig. 

189?. 

.  .  .  Miss  Juliette  P.  Atkinson. 

1896. 

.  .  .  Miss  Elizabeth  H.  Moore 

1897. 

.  .  .  Miss  Juliette  P.  Atkinson. 

1898. 

.  .  .  Miss  Juliette  P.  Atkinson. 

1899. 

.  .  .  Miss  Marion  Jones. 

1900 . 

.  .  .  Miss  Myrtle  McAteer. 

YACHTING  — IDEAS 
AND  OPINIONS  OF 
A  RACING  OWNER 

H.  B.  DURYEA 

A  HALF  CENTURY  OF 
AMERICAN  YACHTING 

W.  p.  STEPHENS 


"    f  'WERE' S  Columbia  and  Britannia  !    Tes,  forever  and  awhile, 
M    i    May  each  face  with  loving  looks  reflect  the  other  s  sniile. 

For  Conunon  Speech  and  Love  and  Law  and  Christian  Code  they've  got. 
And  yet  Columbia  always  has  the  7nost  iin-Common    Tacht. 

"  ^  m    ''HEN  call  on   Father  Neptune,  sirs,   and  when  the  Storm   King  smites 
M         Turn  in  the  ?-eef  and  trim  the  sheet !     IV ho  asks  for  summer  kites 
When   Columbia  and  Britannia,  with  their  yachting  flags  unfurled. 
In  gallant  rivalry  contest  the   Trophy  of  the   World." 

— From  the  "  Song  of  the  Cup"  by   Ex-Cojnmodore  S.   Nicholson  Ka?ie. 


YACHTING-IDEAS 
AND  OPINIONS  OF 
A    RACING    OWNER 


BY    H.    B.    DURYEA 


VARIETY  of  causes  has  conspired  to  introduce  into  American 
yacht-racing  of  to-day  most  unsatisfactory  elements.  Many  ot  its 
features  appear  chaotic ;  rules  are  changed  and  rechanged  with- 
out improvement,  and  there  is  no  unanimity  of  opinion  among 
the  different  clubs.  All  this  should  be  overcome ;  and  the  solu- 
tion seems  to  be  simple.  If  yacht-racing  is  to  be  followed  intel- 
ligently, it  appears  obvious  to  me  that  we  must  found  some  central  organization 
on  the  lines  of  the  Yacht  Racing  Association  of  England. 

All  representative  American  yacht  clubs  include  two  types  of  members : 
one,  made  up  of  men  practical  and  experienced ;  the  other,  an  inactive  class,  but 
inactive  only  as  far  as  actual  racing  is  concerned.  Unfortunately,  this  second 
class  plays  an  important  part  in  yachting  affairs.  Men  actively  engaged  in  the 
sport  frequently  begrudge  the  time  given  to  committee  meetings,  and,  moreover, 
in  many  of  our  clubs  they  are  in  the  minority.  The  result  of  this  has  been,  in 
many  instances,  that  racing  rules  have  been  formulated  by  men  that  have  not 
had  enough  experience  to  enable  them  to  act  comprehensively.  A  National 
Association,  with  a  Council  composed  almost  entirely  of  racing  owners,  would 
at  once  end  this.  The  English  Association  was  founded  in  1875.  Prior  to  that, 
racing  had  been  conducted  without  reference  to  any  final  court  of  appeal,  and 
the  complications  that  continually  presented  themselves  paved  the  way  for  the 
association.  To-day  it  has  the  enthusiastic  support  of  every  yachtsman  in  Eng- 
land. Such  an  association  should  be  endorsed  and  backed  by  every  American 
yacht  club.  It  should  be  the  body  from  which  all  rules  of  racing  and  measure- 
ment emanate,  and  also  the  court  of  last  resort  for  the  decision  ot  all  protests. 

Racing  rules,  at  the  best,  seem  to  me  to  be  utterly  inadequate  to  provide 
for  certain  conditions.  I  think  all  clubs  should  value  the  good  precedent  of  the 
Eastern,  in  giving  their  regatta  committees  more  sway,  and  not  tying  them  down 
to  the  present  rules.  Each  yacht  club  should  insert  in  its  first  paragraph  of 
racing  rules  under  the  "Management  of  Races"  that: 

"All  races  and  yachts  sailing  therein  shall  be  under  the  direction  of  the  Regatta  Com- 
mittee of  the  Club.      All   matters   shall   be  subject   to    their  approval   and   by-laws,  and  all 


332 


7  P 


Yachting 


doubts,  questions,  and  disagreements  shall  be  subject  to  their  decision.  Their  decision  shall 
be  based  upon  these  rules  so  far  as  they  will  apply;  but  as  no  rules  can  be  devised  capable 
of  meeting  every  incident  and  accident  of  sailing,  the  Regatta  Committee  should  keep  in 
view  the  ordinary  customs  of  the  sea,  and  discourage  all  attempts  to  win  races  by  other  means 
than  fair  sailing  and  superior  speed  and  skill.    The  decision  ot  the  Committee  shall  be  final." 

American  waters  are  especially  adapted  to  racing,  and  yet  it  is  astonishing 
how  little  there  is  or  has  been,  apart  from  a  few  classes  that  seem  to  have  sprung 

up  like  mushrooms — to  have  their  little  day, 
to  prosper  awhile,  and  then  to  fade  when  the 
men  interested  became  bored  and  went  in  for 
other  sports.  In  England  it  is  quite  different. 
The  natural  conditions  are  not  nearly  as  favor- 
able, but  yet  there  is  a  great  deal  of  racing. 
In  the  Solent,  men  go  in  for  racing  precisely 
as  they  go  in  for  hunting.  Nothing  would 
induce  them  to  lose  a  good  racing  day  any 
more  than  they  would  ignore  a  good  hunting 
day.  Some  go  in  tor  one  class ;  some  tor  an- 
other. But  no  matter  how  large  or  how  small 
the  boat,  the  keenness  is  maintained. 

One  serious  drawback  in  this  country  is 
the  bane  of  theories  versus  practical  experience. 
Had  we  enough  racing,  the  result  would  be 
obvious.  But,  as  I  have  said,  we  have  very 
little,  and  the  effect  is  that  theorists  keep  on 
for  years  doing  and  saying  the  same  things  without  proving  right  or  wrong. 
Furthermore,  it  has  become  so  uncomfortable  to  race  in  this  country,  owing 
to  rules  that  allow  skinning,  that  many  men,  who  might  have  done  so,  have 
given  up  all  idea  of  sailing  vessels  and  have  gone  into  steam.  In  tact,  a  yacht 
ready  for  racing  is  hardly  habitable.  In  the  big  races  of  to-day,  boats  go  into 
the  contest  in  the  same  manner  that  a  battle-ship  goes  into  action — stripped  of 
every  article  not  absolutely  necessary.  Everything  is  sent  over  the  side  until 
only  the  hull,  spars,  and  sails  remain — a  racing  machine,  pure  and  simple,  and  in 
that  guise,  fit  for  nothing  else. 

To-day,  as  a  result  of  this,  we  find  many  declaring  that  the  New  York 
Yacht  Club,  in  the  last  six  years,  has  departed  from  its  early  traditions,  and  be- 
come almost  wholly  an  organization  of  steam  yachts.  But  that  criticism  is  dis- 
puted by  the  fact  that  the  Commodore,  Vice-Commodore,  and  Rear-Commodore 
now  fly  their  flags  on  sailing  vessels.  Commodore  Ledyard's  attitude  in  select- 
ing Corona  as  his  flag-ship   cannot   be  too   highly  commended ;   and  to  have  a 


A.  Bryan  Alley. 


Yachting 


333 


\ 


Vice-Commodore  on  a  racing  70,  and  the  Rear-Commodore  on  a  cruibing  70 
is,  indeed,  an  important  change  in  the  right  direction. 

A  great  objection  to  the  New  York  Yacht  Club  cruise  is  that  the  runs 
from  port  to  port  are  usually  reaches.  The  consequence  being  that  there  are 
but  two  races  during  the  cruise  —  the  first  for  the  Commodore's  cup  on  the 
opening  day,  and  the  second  for  Colonel  Astor's  cup  off  Newport.  A  week's 
racing  at   Newport  would   prove,  I   think,  far   more  satisfactory  and  beneficial. 

The  Larchmont  Yacht  Club  has  done 
more,  probably,  to  support  the  sport  and  to 
improve  the  smaller  classes  and  interests  in 
general  than  any  other  club  in  America.  It 
has  always  given  races  and  plenty  of  them  to 
every  sporting  class,  no  matter  how  big  or  how 
small.  Its  program  and  method  of  running 
its  races  are  absolutely  perfect,  and  much  of 
this  is  due  to  the  able  chairman  of  the  Re- 
gatta Committee,  Mr.  John  Lovejoy,  who  for 
many  years  has  been  the  administrator  of  its  rac- 
ing affairs.  And  if  the  Larchmont  Club  would 
only  fix  its  racing  week  in  June  instead  of  in 
J  uly,  its  entries  would  in  all  probability  increase. 

The  Seawanhaka  Club  has  given  its  at- 
tention largely  to  Corinthian  races  and  to  the 
development  of  the  amateur  in  general.  In 
that  line   it    is   questionable   if  it    has   been   a 

definite  success.  When  the  Club  first  started,  all  its  races  were  entirely  Corin- 
thian, both  in  the  larger  and  smaller  classes.  This  attempt  proved  not  only  doubt- 
ful, but  dangerous,  and  somewhat  absurd  from  a  racing  stand-point.  It  is  quite  well 
to  have  amateur  helmsmen,  but  amateur  crews  will  not  do  on  a  boat  of  any  size. 

Another  unfortunate  feature  of  the  lack  of  racing  is  that  our  own  skippers 
have  not  had  the  chance  they  deserve.  Some  of  them — able  and  intelligent 
masters  like  Seaman,  for  instance — have  lived  to  be  old  men  without  ever  having 
a  chance  at  a  big  boat.  In  England  the  system  is  quite  difl^erent.  There,  any 
man  that  proves  himself  good  in  a  small  vessel  almost  invariably  gets  a  chance 
to  try  his  hand  in  a  larger  one.  This  system,  I  may  add,  has  resulted  in  some 
sudden  jumps  with  great  success.  No  matter  how  well  a  man  can  handle  a  big 
boat,  unless  he  has  had  racing  experience  and  plenty  of  it  in  all  sorts  of  tight 
competition,  he  never  can  be  considered  good.  And  that  is  precisely  what  our 
skippers  lack.  It  has  been  pretty  generally  conceded  that  N.  Watson  is  one  of  the 
best  men  in  this  country,  and  I  think  he  has  so  proved  himself;   yet  he  has  never 


Charles  F.  Adams.  2d. 


334 


Yachting 


had  a  chance  in  a  big  racing  sloop.  Crocker,  Dennis,  Seaman,  Rhodes,  and 
Haff  are  probably  among  the  best  men  we  have  produced.  Most  of  them  are 
growing  old,  and  where  new  timber  is  coming  from  I  cannot  see.  But  surely 
there  must  be  plenty  ot  material  it  the  younger  men  had  only  a  chance. 

Foreign  skippers  for  native  craft  seem  to  have  come  into  some  favor  of  late, 
but  it  strikes  me  that  this  retards   the  development   ot   native   talent.      Everyone 

knows  that  good  English  yachting  profession- 
als are  hard  to  beat,  but  I  am  firmly  of  the 
opinion  that  our  skippers  and  crews,  with 
more  experience,  could  be  made  their  equals 
and  perhaps  their  betters.  Our  men,  how- 
ever, can  be  developed  only  by  giving  them 
a  chance  to  race  our  own  boats  in  our  own 
waters.  The  toundation  of  all  crews  in  this 
country  is  the  Swede.  He  has  the  most  ex- 
cellent characteristics  and  is  born  and  bred  to 
the  sea.  He  is  amenable  to  discipline,  clean, 
interested  in  his  boat,  and,  with  the  same  ex- 
perience, as  good  as  any  English  seaman.  He 
is  certainly  more  handy  to  get  at  for  the  aver- 
age American  owner  and  should  be  developed 
on  racing  boats.  In  the  matter  of  crews,  the 
author  would  suggest  that  a  rule  be  adopted 
to  the  effect  that  each  man  should  have  his 
proper  discharge  papers  from  his  last  berth, 
betore  hiring  in  any  capacity  on  any  other 
yacht.  A  system  of  this  sort  would  prevent  the 
great  evil  of  men  leaving  in  the  middle  ot  the  season  for  some  imaginary  wrong. 
Before  the  steam-yachting  epoch,  racing  in  America  was  confined  to  a  num- 
ber of  owners  who  kept  their  yachts  to  live  on.  They  raced  in  the  New  York 
Yacht  Club  regatta,  went  on  the  Club's  cruise,  and  after  that  their  .season  was 
virtually  finished.  There  might  be  a  few  matches,  or  some  sportily  inclined 
owner  might  challenge  for  some  cup,  but  there  it  generally  ended.  After  that 
we  come  to  the  period  of  class  racing,  which  was  eminently  successful  and  paved 
the  way  for  better  results. 

The  first  real  class  was  that  of  the  40-footers.  Minerva  came  across  the 
ocean  to  show  what  Mr.  Fife  could  teach  the  Americans  about  yacht-building ; 
and  she  showed  it  conclusively.  It  took  Mr.  Burgess  some  time  and  the  build- 
ing of  a  great  many  yachts  of  different  designs,  before  he  launched  one  that 
proved  her  equal.      When  Gassoon  was  built  she  was  supposed  to  be  easily  up  to 


John  F.  Lovejoy. 


■"^m 


H.   B.  Duryea. 


Yachting 


337 


the  task,  but  after  a  season's  racing  she  showed  plainly  that  if  one  could  call  her 
even  with  Minerva  it  would  be  about  all  that  could  be  said. 

This  class  started  owners  thinking.  They  became  keen  for  the  business, 
and  the  next  year  the  46-foot  class  was  brought  out.  It  comprised,  I  think, 
seven  boats,  four  ot  which  were  Burgess's  models.  The  most  successful  one  was 
Gloriana,  built  by  Mr.  HerreshofF.  It  is  astonishing  that  when  a  country  pro- 
duces such  a  great  genius  as  Mr.  N.  G.  Herre- 
shoff  that  there  should  be  such  a  general  lack 
ot  appreciation  of  his  opinions.  It  is  perhaps 
futile  in  an  article  of  this  kind  to  go  into  his 
history,  but  I  think  a  mild  digression  on  the 
point  advisable.  Mr.  Herreshoff  has  been  ab- 
solutely successful  and  a  pioneer  in  everything 
regarding  both  steam  and  sailing  yachts  of  the 
present  generation.  All  the  modern  systems  of 
rigging,  sail-plan,  model,  and  type  have  ema- 
nated from  his  genius,  and  this  applies  to  England 
as  well  as  to  America.  In  fact,  Mr.  Herre- 
shoff's  reputation  and  any  thought  of  his  has 
more  weight  abroad  than  here.  Yet,  knowing 
his  idea  of  the  present  system  of  measurement 
and  the  type  of  boat  it  leads  to,  it  seems  incom- 
prehensible that  we  should  stick  to  the  old  rules 
of  measurement  and  be  utterly  oblivious  of  the 
path  in  which,  owing  to  their  influence,  we  are 
all  going.  The  eiTect  of  the  present  rule  of 
measurement  has  been  to  produce  a  boat  of 
great  depth,  tremendous  overhangs,  and,  although  fast,  of  an  undesirable  type. 
How  far  this  can  be  carried  out,  time  and  events  will  prove;  for  although  the 
boats  are  fast,  they  are  growing  altogether  in  the  wrong  direction,  and  I  think  it 
high  time  that  the  rule  be  changed. 

To  resume:  The  21 -foot  class  was  started  by  Mr.  VV.  Butler  Duncan,  Jr., 
to  whom  may  be  given  the  credit  of  laying  the  foundation  for  one-design  classes. 
They  proved  very  successful  little  boats,  and  provided  lots  of  sport  for  their 
owners.  Five  were  built  by  the  HerreshofF  Manufacturing  Company.  There 
were  thirteen  in  all,  the  HerreshofF  boats  coming  out  ahead  at  the  end  of  the 
season.  This  class  was  not  essentially  of  one  design,  but  the  limitations  were 
such  that  it  was  practically  made  so.  The  30-footers  followed  two  years  later, 
on  virtually  the  same  basis.  Twelve  were  built  by  the  HerreshofF  Company 
and  two  by  outsiders — one  a  Gardiner  design,  the  other  by  Wintringham.      If  I 


Dr.    'John  Bryant. 


jj8  Yachting 

remember  correctly,  neither  the  Gardiner  nor  Wintringham  boat  won  a  race. 
The  class  kept  on  in  the  most  remarkable  way  for  five  years,  and  have  raced 
practically  six  days  a  week  during  the  yachting  seasons.  They  are  still  as  good 
as  the  day  they  were  built,  have  been  hammered  in  all  sorts  of  weather  over  all 
sorts  of  courses,  and  have  been  ashore  on  many  occasions.  All  this  does  not 
seem  to  have  hurt  them  in  the  least,  and  they  still  bob  up  as  serenely  as  they 
did  five  years  ago.  At  the  time  the  boats  were  built,  it  was  freely  prophesied 
that  five  races  at  Newport  would  be  their  limit.  I  am  afraid  to  say  how  many 
hundred  times  they  have  raced  without  any  diminution  of  interest  on  the  part 
of  their  owners. 

There  are  many  arguments  against  one-design  or  limited  classes,  which  the 
author  fully  appreciates.  The  foremost  ot  these  objections  is  that  it  limits  the 
designer  if  the  idea  becomes  too  prevalent,  and  no  other  classes  are  built  up  in 
which  he  has  opportunity  to  experiment.  Another  objection  is  that  it  ap- 
peals to  only  one  type  of  man — the  one  that  likes  hard  racing.  But  there  are 
other  types  that  should  be  encouraged. 

Many  men  like  to  experiment,  no  matter  by  whom  the  boat  may  be  de- 
signed or  how  successful  the  conception  has  proved.  They  like  to  tinker  and 
to  race  occasionally;  then  to  tinker  again.  If  their  first  attempt  is  a  failure,  there 
is  some  good  reason  for  it.  Then  they  must  have  ample  time  before  the  next 
race — and  so  on.  This  trying  and  racing  and  trying  again — the  tuning  up — gives 
an  endless  amount  of  pleasure  to  those  so  inclined,  and  some  day  someone 
may  hit  upon  a  scheme  that  is  better  than  Mr.  HerreshofF's  or  that  of  any  other 
good  designer.  It  he  does,  he  will  have  accomplished  a  great  deal  ot  good;  but 
his  field,  to  keep  him  contented,  is  in  mixed  and  not  in  one-design  or  limited 
classes.  There  one  can  never  really  be  wrong  in  one's  theories;  it  is  the  boat's 
fault.  But  it  is  a  hard  game  to  play  in  restricted  classes  if  the  designers  af  e  up  to 
their  business. 

Other  men  again  derive  great  pleasure  from  owning  a  successful  boat.  They 
may  not  particularly  concern  themselves  in  the  active  management,  but  they 
secure  the  best  talent,  in  order  to  win,  and  there  they  do  good  provided  they 
employ  native  talent. 

It  is  a  point  in  discussion  among  yachtsmen  in  general  whether  the  Amer- 
ica's Cup  Contests  have  proved  beneficial  to  racing  in  America.  They  create 
great  enthusiasm  throughout  the  entire  country,  and  of  course  a  proportionately 
large  interest  among  racing  men.  But  upon  our  local  racing,  these  international 
contests  have  always  had  an  unfortunate  effect.  During  the  preliminary  trials 
and  the  actual  racing,  all  other  classes  suffer,  and  it  has  usually  taken  a  year  or 
two  to  resuscitate  interest  in  them. 

In  the  matter  of  sails,  there   is   a  great   diversity  of  opinion.      During   the 


Yachting 


339 


A  Start  of  the   Thirty-footers. 

last  ten  years,  there  have  been  two  general  theories  concerning  mainsails  that  are 
diametrically  opposite.  One  is  a  slack  luff  with  plenty  of  draught  and  a  rather 
tight  sweep  aft  to  the  leach.  This  may  be  called  the  American  method  of  cut- 
ting mainsails,  and,  until  the  last  two  years,  was  the  theory  on  which  most  of  our 
best  sail-makers  worked.  The  other  system  is  a  flat  luff  with  a  gradual  sweep  to 
the  leach.  This  may  be  termed  the  English  method  of  cutting  mainsails,  as 
adopted  and  perfected  by  Mr.  Thomas  Ratsey,  of  Cowes,  who,  in  the  author's 
opinion,  is  as  much  of  a  genius  in  his  way  as  Mr.  Herreshoff  is  in  his.  I  think 
Mr.  Ratsey's  methods  are  beginning  to  be  pretty  generally  accepted  in  this  coun- 
try where  there  has  been  competition  and  comparison.  The  cross-cut  sails  of 
the  Herreshoff  Manufacturing  Company  are  supposed  to  possess  an  individual 
merit — of  this  I  cannot  form  an  opinion  based  on  comparison,  as  both  types  of 
sails  are  cut  very  much  alike.  In  fact,  Mr.  Herreshoffs  sails  are  now  so  good 
that  it  would  be  hard  to  pick  a  flaw  in  them.      The  author  has  tried  both  kinds. 


340 


Yachting 


and  while  two  years  ago  there  was  no  comparison — so  far  ahead  were  the  Ratsey 
sails — at  the  present  time  it  is  an  even  choice,  except  so  far  as  material  is  con- 
cerned. In  the  matter  of  material,  our  English  cousins  are  far  ahead  ot  us,  unless 
the  new  process  of  mercerization  proves  the  reverse. 

The  jibs,  fore-staysails,  and  jib-topsails  are  nearly  alike.  Mr.  Ratsey  comes 
to  the  front  in  club-topsails,  and  the  superiority  in  spinnakers  and  balloon  jib- 
topsails  is  still  to  be  settled.  Mr.  Herreshoff  apparently  believes  in  high  clews 
and  a  small  sail,  while  Mr.  Ratsey  still  sticks  to  low  clews  and  all  the  canvas  he 
can  get. 

Time  alone  will  tell  which  is  correct. 


0h^ 


IVU/A^ 


A    HALF-CENTURY   OF 
AMERICAN    YACHTING 

BY    W.    P.    STEPHENS 


ONSIDERED  simply  as  a  sport,  yachting  has  attractions  of  its  own 
which  appeal  powerfully  to  all  men  of  vigorous  instincts  who  love 
a  rough,  hearty,  out-door  life  and  a  combat  with  their  fellows  ;  hut 
on  the  other  hand,  it  has  from  its  early  days  numbered  among  its 
most  ardent  devotees  men  who  esteemed  it  no  less  as  a  sport  than 
as  a  subject  for  scientific  investigation  and  close  study,  men  like 
Joseph  Weld,  T.  Assheton  Smith,  Philip  Marett  in  the  old  days,  and  Colin 
Archer,  R.  E.  Froude,  and  John  Hyslop  in  modern  times,  who  would  gladly 
drop  the  tiller  at  any  moment  to  discuss  the  many  abstruse  problems  which  give 
to  yachting  that  uncertainty  on  which  its  main  charm  as  a  sport  depends,  and 
also  raise  it  to  a  far  higher  level  as  an  intellectual  pursuit.  Among  these  devo- 
tees of  the  gentler  side  of  the  sport  there  have  been  many  who  were  content  to 
serve  as  historians,  and  who  have  left  behind  them  ample  and  truthful  records  ; 
these,  however,  deal  mainly  with  certain  different  eras,  valuable  links  in  the  long 
cable  which  joins  present  and  past,  but  failing  to  give  a  full  and  accurate  view 
of  American  yachting  as  it  exists  to-day. 

If  any  one  date  can  be  selected  as  the  birthday  of  American  yachting  it 
must  be  July  30,  1844,  on  which  day  the  New  York  Yacht  Club,  the  first  in 
the  country,  was  formally  organized  on  board  the  schooner  Gimcrack,  at  anchor 
off  the  Battery,  New  York.  The  semi-centennial  of  this  event  was  duly  cele- 
brated by  the  New  York  Yacht  Club  a  few  years  ago,  but  from  a  technical  point 
of  view  it  is  more  correct  to  consider  the  period  up  to  the  exact  middle  of  the 
last  century  as  merely  evolutionary.  The  one  great  date  in  American  yacht- 
ing history  must  always  be  the  year  1851,  in  which,  through  the  victory  ot  the 
schooner  America  over  the  British  fleet,  yachting  first  met  with  public  recogni- 
tion as  a  sport.  With  the  end  of  the  half-century  thus  auspiciously  begun,  we 
are  in  a  position  to  study  the  sport  from  a  broader  point  of  view  than  has  ever 
before  existed,  to  note  the  varying  phases  of  its  growth,  now  rapid,  now  slow, 
and  sometimes  halting,  or  even  for  a  time  slipping  astern  under  some  adverse 
influence.  Such  a  task  should  not  only  be  interesting,  but  it  should  result  in 
some  conclusions  of  real  practical  value  to  the  further  prosperity  of  yachting. 

The  history  of  yachting  is  in  itself  an  interesting  one  from  a  purely  literary 


J) 


342 


Yachting 


stand-point,  and  it  might  be  made  still  more  so  if  unfolded  scene  by  scene,  with 
surprises  and  climaxes,  but  as  the  main  end  in  view  is  the  advancement  of  the 
sport  it  may  be  best  to  disregard  all  such  temptations,  and  to  outline  plainly  at 
the  start  the  course  laid  out  for  the  present  account. 

At  the  present  time  yachting  can  fairly  claim  a  distinct   place   of  its   own 

among  the  national  sports  of  America,  having 
its  devoted  adherents  in  larger  or  smaller 
numbers  on  both  of  the  great  sea-coasts,  on 
the  rivers,  the  Great  Lakes,  and  even  on  the 
smaller  inland  lakes  in  all  sections.  Outside 
of  those  directly  connected  with  it,  the  sport 
has  the  recognition  and  approval  of  many 
thinking  Americans,  both  on  its  merits  as  per- 
haps the  cleanest,  healthiest,  and  most  scien- 
tific of  all  sports,  and  as  a  powerful  moral 
as  well  as  material  auxiliary  to  the  naval  power 
of  the  nation.  It  is  permanently  established 
throughout  the  country  as  a  whole ;  it  has 
grown  into  a  system,  faulty  as  yet  both  in 
general  plan  and  details,  but  with  many  ele- 
ments of  strength  that  may  be  relied  on  in 
due  time  to  bring  it  to  the  point  of  organiza- 
tion already  attained  by  some  other  sports. 

The  origin  of  the  smaller  classes  of  yachts 
is  not  very  clear.  They  are  the  result  of  an 
evolution  of  the  pirogues  or  "  periaguas  "  and 
other  local  fishing,  trading,  and  ferrying  craft 
of  the  early  part  of  the  century.  The  origin  ot  the  yacht  proper  can  be 
fixed  more  definitely  both  in  date  and  detail  ;  the  first,  of  40  to  60  feet  in  length, 
being  built  about  1830.  Between  that  date  and  1850  a  score  or  more  of 
such  yachts  were  built,  the  toys  of  a  few  private  gentlemen  of  nautical  pro- 
clivities who  cruised  a  good  deal  and  raced  occasionally  in  special  matches  on 
the  cruises  of  the  New  York  Yacht  Club.  Outside  of  the  few  directly  inter- 
ested in  it,  the  sport  was  hardly  known  to  the  American  people.  The  victory 
of  America  in  1851,  heralded  all  over  the  world  and  freely  conceded  by  British 
yachtsmen,  first  brought  the  sport  into  public  notice  and  gave  it  a  recognized 
position  in  this  country.  In  the  following  decade  small  yacht  sailing  in  the  once 
national  institution,  the  centreboard  catboat,  became  very  popular  about  New 
York  and  Boston  and  along  Long  Island  Sound,  and  many  of  these  speedy  little 
machines  were  sent  to  England,  France,  and  Germany.      At   the  same  time   the 


Robert  Center. 


Yachting 


343 


centreboard  sloop  ot  moderate  size  became  popular  in  the  same  locality.  As 
racing  increased,  various  measurement  rules  were  tested,  but  racing  rules  of  all 
kinds  were  in  a  very  primitive  state. 

The  Civil  War  naturally  put  a  stop  to  yachting  for  nearly  five  years,  but  it 
was  followed  by  a  reaction  which  still  stands  out  as  one  of  the  great  eras  of 
American  yachting.  Almost  coincident  with 
the  close  of  the  war  there  began  the  building 
of  the  great  schooners  ;  business  was  prosper- 
ous; after  four  years  of  trouble  and  suffering, 
the  people  turned  gladly  to  sports  of  all  kinds, 
and  New  York  in  particular  was  then  the 
home  of  a  number  ot  famous  sportsmen,  the 
Jeromes,  Lorillards,  Waterburys,  Osgoods, 
Bennett,  and  others  of  the  same  set.  Yacht- 
ing leaped  into  almost  instant  popularity,  and 
the  building  and  racing  of  the  great  schooners 
— -in  particular,  the  mid-winter  race  across 
the  Atlantic  in  1866 — brought  new  fame  to 
America.  Thus  far  the  sport  had  grown  up 
by  chance,  with  little  co-operation  and  no 
organization  among  its  followers.  For  the 
first  twenty  years  of  its  existence  the  New 
York  Yacht  Club  stood  practically  alone  as 
the  one  American  club.  It  was  about  1870 
that  the  sport  entered  on  a  new  era,  that  of 
the  yacht  clubs;  between  1868  and  1872 
many  clubs  were  formed,  among   them  such 

prominent  ones  as  the  Seawanhaka,  Eastern,  Atlantic,  Boston — with  many  smaller 
ones  doing  equally  good  work  in  their  local  spheres.  From  i  870  to  1880  was  the 
day  of  general  club  work  for  yachting,  the  uniting,  organizing,  and  educating  of 
yachtsmen,  and  the  furthering  of  yachting  legislation  both  in  measurement  and 
general  racing  rules.  During  the  same  period  the  racing  of  small  yachts  pros- 
pered, and  as  the  big  schooners  lost  somewhat  in  favor,  the  sloops  of  upward  of 
70  feet  water-line  became  more  numerous  and  prominent. 

Though  vague  schemes  of  club  union  and  co-operation  were  broached  as 
far  back  as  1876,  the  work  of  the  clubs  at  this  period  and  until  much  later  was 
independent  and  often  in  opposition ;  even  where  outward  harmony  existed  be- 
tween neighboring  clubs,  there  was  often  a  deep  rivalry  which  found  expression 
in  the  adoption  of  different  rules  and  class  limits  tending  to  restrict  inter-club  rac- 
ing and  to  draw  hard  and  fast  lines  between  the  yachts  of  the  different  club  fleets. 


J.  R.  Busk. 


344 


Yachting 


Oliver  E.   Cromwell. 


With  the  new  decade,  1880,  came  another  change,  as  some  half-dozen  of 
the  larger  clubs  increased  in  size,  broadened  their  field  of  operations,  and  began 
to  work  together  for  the  interests  of  yacht-racing.  First  in  point  of  age  and 
membership  was  the  New  York,  then  the  Seawanhaka  Corinthian,  removed 
from  its  original  home   on  Oyster  Bay  to  Staten  Island  on  New  York,  then   the 

Atlantic,  on  the  opposite  shore.  The 
young  Larchmont  Yacht  Club,  a  baby 
in  1880,  grew  with  marvellous  rapidity 
and  in  a  very  few  years  held  the  same 
important  position  on  Long  Island 
Sound  that  the  three  older  clubs  occu- 
pied on  New  York  Bay.  In  the  East 
the  Eastern  Yacht  Club,  with  a  fine 
station  at  Marblehead,  assumed  a  similar 
position  as  regards  yachting  about  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay.  Each  of  these  five  clubs 
numbered  among  its  members  the  lead- 
ing yachtsmen  ot  the  day  and  all  the 
larger  yachts,  so  that  the  same  influ- 
ences were  at  work  in  each  ;  they  were 
brought  more  closely  together,  and  to  an 
extent  never  before  known  they  labored  for  better  measurement  rules,  improve- 
ments in  designing,  and  the  general  advancement  of  the  sport. 

From  the  first  adoption  of  a  length  and  sail  area  rule  in  this  country,  and 
in  fact  the  first  actual  use  of  the  rule  in  yachting,  by  the  Seawanhaka  Corin- 
thian Yacht  Club  in  1882,  down  to  the  very  thorough  revision  of  the  racing 
rules  of  the  road  by  the  same  club  in  1887,  much  good  work  was  done  by  all 
of  these  clubs  in  the  way  of  improved  legislation  and  the  general  revision  of 
racing  methods ;  the  fleet  was  divided  as  it  had  never  previously  been  into  classes 
with  definite  limits,  and  these  limits  were  gradually  made  uniform  among  the 
leading  clubs  ;  improved  methods  of  starting  were  introduced,  and  a  code  of 
yacht  etiquette  was  formulated  and  adopted  by  all  in  common. 

The  good  work  thus  done  by  the  few  large  clubs  ceased  at  a  critical  time, 
about  1890,  just  before  the  introduction  of  the  fin-keel  type  of  extreme  light 
construction.  There  are  many  who  consider  that  the  highest  development  of 
American  yachting  is  represented  by  the  yachts  of  this  era,  the  centreboard  boats 
Volunteer,  Titania,  Iroquois,  Katrina,  Quickstep,  and  Sea  Fox  ;  and  the  keel 
boats  Papoose,  Babboon,  Liris,  Kathleen,  and  many  others  which  at  the  time 
monopolized  the  racing  in  all  the  medium  and  smaller  classes.  As  racing 
craft  these  boats  were  the  fastest  afloat,  as  proved  in  international  matches  ;   and 


Yachting 


345 


at  the  same  time  they  were  in  regular  use  for  cruising,  the  owners  living  on 
board  even  in  the  racing  season.  In  construction  they  were  far  in  advance  of 
their  immediate  predecessors,  and  yet  all  of  them  are  afloat  and  in  regular  service 
to-day.  While  the  destructive  tendencies  of  keen  competition  were  apparent  at 
the  time  to  a  icw,  and  ample  warning  was  given  of  the  necessity  of  a  timely 
revision  of  the  rules,  neither  the  clubs 
nor  the  yachting  public  were  inclined 
to  any  action  which  would  even  nomi- 
nally hamper  the  development  of  still 
higher  speed.  Urged  on  by  the  de- 
mands of  owners  and  the  hot  competi- 
tion of  the  day,  the  designers  after  a 
certain  point  was  passed  gave  no  thought 
to  anything  hut  the  successful  evasion  of 
the  existing  rules;  first  came  the  fin- 
keel,  in  I  89 1,  and  then  the  fragile  and 
delicate  construction  which  has  born  its 
legitimate  fruits  in  the  new  yachts  of 
1900.  During  this  change  the  clubs 
which  had  a  few  years  before  been  active 
in  advanced  legislation  stood  passively  by 
and  watched  the  all-around  racing  and  cruising  yacht  disappear  before  the  racing 
machine,  and  the  latter  in  turn  deteriorate  in  construction  until  her  life  was 
limited  to  but  one  or  two  seasons. 

The  failure  of  the  great  clubs,  then  secure  in  their  positions  as  the  recog- 
nized leaders  in  yachting,  led  to  a  reaction  ;  during  the  prosperous  days  of  the 
40-foot  and  30-foot  classes  many  new  clubs  were  formed  and  many  of  the  older 
clubs  were  strengthened  through  the  racing  in  the  smaller  classes  which  had 
become  a  growing  feature  of  American  yachting.  The  general  dissatisfaction 
with  existing  rules  and  conditions,  and  the  apathy  of  the  clubs  to  which  all  such 
matters  had  thus  far  been  intrusted  by  tacit  consent,  led  to  concerted  action  on 
the  part  of  the  smaller  clubs  which  has  since  resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  num- 
ber of  unions  or  associations. 

The  first  important  work  of  this  kind  in  America  was  inaugurated  on  Lake 
Ontario  in  1884,  the  yachtsmen  of  Oswego,  Rochester,  Toronto,  Kingston, 
Hamilton,  and  other  lake  ports,  Canadian  and  American,  forming  the  Lake 
Yacht  Racing  Association  ;  with  a  constitution  and  code  of  rules,  including  the 
then  new  "  Seawanhaka  rule,"  that  was  far  in  advance  of  its  day.  Other  simi- 
lar but  less  successful  associations  were  formed  on  the  other  lakes,  and  local 
associations  existed   at  times  about  Boston  and  New   York  ;   but   none  of  these 


George  H.   Richards. 


J^^ 


Yachting 


achieved  any  permanent  results,  they  effected  no  material  improvements  in  the 
rules,  and  at  best  only  secured  a  certain  uniformity  in  the  existing  rules  and  class 
limits. 

At  the  time  of  the  construction  of  the  last  Cup-defence  fleet  in  1893,  ^^^ 
larger  yachts  had  reached  a  point  where  the  great  cost  of  construction  and 
running  proved  a  bar  to  individual  ownership,  and  the  yachts,  through  their 
model,  and  in  particular  their  excessive  draft,  were  unfitted  for  other  use   than 

the  trial  and  Cup  races,  each  needing  a  nurse 
and  chaperone  in  the  shape  of  a  steam  tender. 
Of  the  four  trial  yachts  built  in  1893  only 
one  was  owned  by  an  individual,  and  with  the 
next  contest  of  1895  a  further  extreme  was 
reached,  of  but  one  syndicate  yacht  and  she 
of  aluminum,  a  new  and  very  costly  and  per- 
ishable metal.  This  stage  of  over-develop- 
ment put  an  end  to  general  racing  in  the 
larger  classes  and  building  practically  ceased 
in  the  single-stick  classes  over  51 -foot;  but 
meanwhile  the  racing  in  all  the  smaller  classes 
gained  in  proportion.  By  1895  the  racing 
fleet  of  small  yachts  on  Long  Island  Sound 
had  grown  to  large  numbers,  enlisting  many 
of  the  best  local  Corinthians  who  no  longer 
found  berths  on  the  90-footers,  and  building 
up  many  local  clubs.  In  this  year  the  neces- 
sity for  some  general  supervision  and  regula- 
tion, if  merely  of  racing  dates,  was  so  plainly 
obvious  that  by  common  consent  and  with  no 
serious  difiiculty  or  opposition  the  yacht  clubs  about  the  western  end  of  Long 
Island  Sound,  to  the  number  of  seventeen,  met  together  early  in  the  season  and 
formed  the  Yacht  Racing  Union  of  Long  Island  Sound.  The  scheme  was  a 
success  from  the  start,  and  the  Association,  the  name  having  since  been  changed, 
now  numbers  twenty-one  clubs,  including  all  but  one  of  the  Sound  clubs. 

After  the  failure  of  various  associations  about  Boston,  in  the  years  1894-95 
it  was  found  necessary  to  form  a  loose  organization  under  the  title  of  the  Con- 
gress of  Regatta  Committees,  mainly  to  avoid  the  constant  clashing  of  racing 
dates.  From  this  beginning  grew,  in  1896,  the  Yacht  Racing  Association  of 
Massachusetts,  now  numbering  thirty  clubs,  between  Cape  Cod  and  Cape  Ann. 
At  the  present  time  similar  associations  are  in  existence  throughout  the 
country ;    the    Paciflc   Inter-Club    Association,  of  San    Francisco    Bay  ;    the    In- 


Howard  IV.   Coates. 


b 


s 


hi 


»■ 


C) 


F.  M.   Hoyt. 


The  Harbor  at  Larchmont  from  the  Club  House. 


Yachting 


349 


land  Lake  Yachting  Association,  of  the  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin  lakes  ;  the 
Inter-Lake  Yachting  Association,  of  Lake  Erie;  the  Lake  Michigan  Yachting 
Association,  and  the  Yacht  Racing  Union  of  the  Great  Lakes,  this  latter  being 
a  union  of  the  various  local  associations  of  Lake  Ontario,  Lake  Erie,  Lake  Huron, 
and  Lake  Michigan. 

The  work  of  these  associations  has  been  successful  up  to  a  certain  point; 
they  have  united  the  clubs  in  their  respective  localities,  they  have  lessened  local 
jealousies  and  rivalry  where  such  existed,  they 
have  ended  the  old  evil  ot  conilicting  race 
dates,  and  they  have  secured  a  certain  uni- 
formity in  the  measurement  rule,  class  limits, 
and  racing  rules  which  has  greatly  helped 
yacht  racing.  Thus  far  they  have  not  suc- 
ceeded, even  where  they  have  attempted  it,  in 
introducing  an  improved  rule  of  measurement. 
They  have,  however,  fully  justified  their  ex- 
istence and  established  their  position  in  Ameri- 
can yachting.  Primitive  and  incomplete  as 
much  of  it  has  been,  their  work  has  helped 
to  make  yachting  more  popular  and  to  put  it 
into    organized    and    systematic    form.      The 


associations  must  be  recognized  in  the  future 


fy' 


Augusttn  Monroe. 


as   permanent   and    important    factors   in    the 
advancement  of  yachting. 

The  success  of  the  Sound  and  Massa- 
chusetts associations  led  in  1897  ^'^  ^  more 
ambitious  effort  on  the  part  of  those  con- 
nected with  them — the  organization  of  a 
national  yachting  body.  The  scheme  in  itself  was  an  old  one,  attempted  as 
long  ago  as  1876  and  revived  at  intervals  by  different  enthusiasts,  but  the  time 
was  not  ripe  for  it.  In  the  fall  of  1897  a  meeting  of  representative  yachtsmen 
from  different  parts  of  the  country  was  held  in  New  York,  and  the  Yacht 
Racing  Union  of  North  America  was  formally  organized.  The  movement 
came  entirely  from  the  many  smaller  clubs  throughout  the  country,  and  thus  far 
it  has  had  the  support  of  but  two  of  the  older  and  larger  clubs,  the  Seawanhaka 
Corinthian  and  the  Atlantic.  While  still  in  existence,  it  has  not  been  able  to 
exert  any  appreciable  influence  on  yachting,  and  its  future  is  a  matter  of  doubt. 
In  the  fall  of  1898  it  attempted  the  difficult  task  of  adopting  a  new  rule  for 
general  use  by  the  yacht  clubs  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  the  rule  selected 
being  that   in  use  by  the  Yacht  Racing  Association  of  Great  Britain  since  1895, 


350 


Yachting 


commonly  called  the  "  girth  rule."  This  attempt  proved  a  failure,  the  new  rule 
being  put  into  use  onlv  bv  the  Yacht  Racing  Union  of  the  Great  Lakes;  it 
was  at  the  outset  formally  adopted  bv  the  Yacht  Racing  Association  of  Long 
Island  Sound,  but  the  clubs  composing  this  association  declined  to  use  it,  retain- 
ing the  old  Seawanhaka  rule,  and  in  the  spring  of  1900  it  was  abandoned.  At 
the  annual  meeting  of  the  L'nion  in  October,  1900,  the  girth  rule  was  formally 

abandoned,  no  other  being  proposed  in  its  place. 
Yachting  to-dav  tliroughout  the  country-  pre- 
sents some  contradictor^"  phases;  it  is  tirmly 
established  in  popular  favor  on  all  waters,  coast 
and  inland ;  it  numbers  over  one  hundred  and 
fiftv  vacht  clubs  and  other  sailing,  ice  vacht, 
and  alHed  organizations,  with  a  large  member- 
ship of  yachtsmen  and  a  deet  of  some  3,000 
yachts.  The  individual  followers  of  the  sport 
are  much  more  closely  united  in  ideas  and 
feelings  than  they  were  but  a  icvi"  years  ago, 
and  the  different  associations  have  inaugurated 
the  work  of  moulding  the  various  elements 
into  a  truly  national  association  such  as  is  found 
in  canoeing  and  in  other  sports.  The  condi- 
tions of  yachting,  however — the  sport  varying 
so  much  with  each  locality,  and  in  particular 
the  great  difficulty-  of  devising  a  really  satis- 
tactory  measurement  rule,  or  perhaps  two  rules, 
one  for  the  smaller  racing  boats,  and  one  for 
yachts  large  enough  for  cruising  use — are  seri- 
ous obstacles  to  that  svstematization  of  the 
sport  which  alone  can  develop  its  full  possibil- 
ities ;  both  as  a  sport  for  all  who  live  within 
reach  of  the  water,  and  as  an  aid  to  naval 
science  and  marine  architecture.  The  problem  of  a  ne^v  measurement  rule 
demands  for  its  solution  the  combined  intelligence  of  the  ablest  yachtsmen, 
backed  by  the  influence  of  the  large  clubs  and  also  of  the  local  associations 
working  in  harmony. 

Having  thus  followed  the  course  of  yachting  so  far  as  the  clubs  and  associa- 
tions are  concerned,  we  may  go  back  to  about  1880  and  trace  the  development 
of  another  important  detail,  that  of  class  racing.  While  long  prior  to  this  time 
the  fleet  of  each  yacht  club  was  divided  into  classes,  these  were  but  few  in 
number,    and    the    limits    were   consequently   wide   apart.       Yachts   were   built 


Osrsald  Sanderson. 


Yachting 


351 


according  to  the  whim  of  the  owner  or  builder,  and  without  regard  to  the 
class  in  which  thev  would  race  ;  in  tact  thev  might  be  in  different  classes,  and 
measured  under  totally  different  rules  in  each  of  several  clubs  to  which  an 
owner  belonged.  All  racing  depended  on  the  allowance  tables,  no  yachts  being 
deliberatelv  designed  and  built  to  the  highest  limit  of  a  class,  and  only  a  few  by 
chance  coinciding  exactly  with  such  limits.  In  many  regattas  there  were  prac- 
tically no  classes,  all  the  fleet  sailing  together 
as  one  class,  with  allowances  to  all  but  the  one 
largest  yacht.  The  idea  of  established  classes 
with  fixed  limits  was  a  gradual  evolution,  be- 
ginning with  the  smaller  open  yachts,  which 
were  more  numerous  than  the  large  ones,  and 
more  nearly  of  uniform  lengths,  such  as  2 1 
feet,  24  feet,  or  28  feet.  With  many  races 
sailed  bv  large  numbers  ot  local  boats  about 
New  York  Bay,  Long  Island  Sound,  and  Bos- 
ton Harbor  the  open  boats  of  under  30  feet 
length  by  degrees  divided  up  into  three  or  four 
classes;  and  many  of  the  boats  in  time  were 
built  to  measure  exactly  to  a  certain  class  Limit. 
Up  to  about  iSSo  there  was  very  little  class 
racing  among  the  larger  yachts,  the  first  real 
class  being  the  70-foot  by  water-line  length. 
This  class  numbered  the  old  centreboard  sloops 
Arrow,  Gracie,  Fanny,  \'ision,  Hildegarde,  and 
Mischief,  of  various  lengths  from  60  feet  to 
70  feet  water-line,  antagonists  in  many  hot 
races  of  the  New  York,  Seawanhaka  Corin- 
thian, and  Atlantic  clubs.  The  earlier  battles 
of  these  yachts  involved  no  more  important 
issues  than  the  superiority  of  one  or  the  other 

of  the  builders  of  the  day,  "Dave"  Kirbv,  "Pat"  McGieghan,  "Phil"  Ells- 
worth, or  "Bob"  Fish.  \\  hen  Mischief  joined  the  class  in  iSSo,  she  intro- 
duced two  new  issues  that  added  a  keen  interest  to  the  racino;.  In  the  first 
place,  she  was  built,  as  Vindex  was  nine  years  before  her,  fi-om  a  design  on 
paper  instead  of  fi-om  a  block  model,  the  work  of  a  professional  yacht  designer 
who  was  not  a  yacht  builder.  To  make  this  worse  according  to  then  current 
ideas,  with  an  iron  hull  instead  of  wood  she  embodies  many  new  features  in  her 
hull  and  rig  which  were  closely  in  accord  with  the  ideas  of  a  new  sect  of 
fanatics,  that  had  but  recently  sprung  up — the  "  cutter-cranks." 


Richard  S.  Palmer. 


J) 


35^ 


Yachting 


Bayard  Thayer. 


There  was  some  hot  fighting  in  this  class  (as  it  was  gradually  becoming) 
during  1880  and  1881,  ending  with  the  trial  races  for  the  America  Cup  in  the 
latter  year,  in  which  Mischief  defeated  both  Gracie  and  the  new  Kirby  sloop 
Pocahontas;    afterward    defeating    the   Canadian    challenger   Atalanta.       In   the 

following    year    the    battle    waged    still 
~~  more  fiercely  when  the  "  cutter-cranks  " 

launched  a  hostile  fleet  to  prey  upon  the 
home  -  designed  craft.  The  two  new 
boats,  Bedouin  and  Wenonah,  keel  cut- 
ters ot  the  prevailing  English  type  but 
somewhat  wider,  were  designed  by  John 
Harvey,  the  English  yacht  designer,  the 
former  ot  70  feet  water-line  and  the 
latter  of  60  feet;  with  a  sister  boat  of 
still  less  breadth,  Ileen,  64  feet  water- 
line,  launched  in  1883,  they  raced  with 
Gracie,  Mischief,  and  the  rest  of  the 
class.  The  battle  between  sloop  and 
cutter  brought  the  class  into  national 
instead  of  merely  local  prominence,  and 
welded  it  into  coherent  and  permanent  shape  as  an  established  racing  class.  As 
late  as  1885  the  New  York  Yacht  Club  recognized  but  three  classes  for  schooners 
and  the  same  number  for  sloops  and  cutters,  Class  I.  being  over  55  feet.  Class  II. 
up  to  55  feet,  and  Class  III.  up  to  45  feet.  According  to  this  classification,  all 
single-stick  yachts  of  over  55  feet  measurement  were  compelled  to  race  together, 
the  70-foot  class  having  no  official  existence. 

Another  famous  class  that  originated  at  the  same  time  and  in  the  same 
hap-hazard  manner  is  that  of  about  50  feet  water-line,  including  the  old  Vixen, 
Regina,  Eclipse,  Fanita,  the  compromise  cutter  Valkyr,  the  narrow  cutter  Oriva, 
and  later  the  sloop  Athlon;  while  in  1886-7-8  the  imported  cutter  Clara,  by 
her  unbroken  record  of  wins,  gave  new  fame  to  the  class. 

The  accidental  growth  of  these  two  classes,  the  advent  of  British  cutters 
built  to  exact  class  limits,  and  the  persistent  advocacy  by  the  "  cutter-cranks  " 
of  the  English  system  of  class  racing  without  allowance,  resulted  in  a  general 
revision  of  the  classification  rules  about  1885,  new  classes  beings  added  to  the 
list.  In  1887  the  Seawanhaka  Corinthian  Yacht  Club  introduced  a  system  of 
classification,  covering  the  whole  range  of  classes  and  with  increasing  intervals, 
thus:  25  feet,  30  feet,  35  feet,  40  feet,  46  feet,  53  feet,  61  feet,  70  feet,  and 
over  70.  This  system  in  an  improved  form,  and  adapted  to  a  length  and 
sail  area  measurement  instead  of  a  water-line  measurement,  has  been  in  uniform 


::i 


^ 


5!~ 


Yachting 


355 


R.   P.   Dorcmus. 


use  for  some  years  by  all  the  large  clubs.      The  challenge  of  the  cutter  Genesta, 

of  8 1  feet  water-line,  for  the  America  Cup  in   1885   led   to  the   construction   of 

a  larger   class   than   the   70-footers,   and  this  in   the   course    of  three  successive 

challenges   produced  the  "90-foot  class,"  famous  ot  late  years  through  Vigilant, 

Defender,   and   Columbia.      One  of  the 

most  famous   of   American    classes    was 

the    40-foot,    established    by    chance   in 

1888,  but  taking  definite  shape  in  1889, 

through  the  designing  of  a  dozen  yachts 

to  the  fixed  limit  of  40  feet  water-line. 

This  and  the  sister  class  of  the   30-foot- 

ers,  built  at  the  same  time,  did  much  to 

incorporate   in    American    yachting  the 

system  of  building  to  the   full  limit  of 

a  fixed   class    and   racing   without   time 

allowance.      Of    late   years    this    system 

has  been  so  generally  accepted  that  time 

allowance  has  been  entirely  abolished  in 

the   regular  classes   of  the  Long   Island 

Sound  and  the  Massachusetts  Associations. 

Among  the  many  developments  of  recent  years  which  are  of  very  question- 
able advantage  are  two  systems  of  class  racing,  known  as  restricted  and  one- 
design  classes.  Both  of  these  have  arisen  from  the  same  cause,  the  exclusion 
from  the  racing  of  usable  and  durable  yachts  by  the  expensive  and  fragile 
racing  machines  of  the  fin  or  semi-fin  types.  Where  the  owner  of  a  new  racing 
yacht  of  good  design  could  once  count  confidently  upon  racing  her  with  fair 
success  for  at  least  three  or  four  seasons,  living  on  board  during  the  racing  and 
doing  some  cruising  as  well,  the  yacht  still  having  a  fair  sale  value  as  an  ex-racer, 
it  is  now  necessary  to  build  a  special  racing  machine  at  least  every  other  year, 
and  an  owner  is  even  to  be  congratulated  if  his  boat  stays  safely  under  him  for 
the  whole  of  her  first  season.  This  condition  of  affairs  has  gradually  driven 
from  the  racing  courses  some  of  the  best  patrons  of  the  sport  ;  while  it  has 
operated  at  the  same  time  to  discourage  the  younger  men  of  moderate  means. 
The  restricted  and  one-design  classes  have  been  introduced  with  the  idea  of 
limiting  the  first  cost,  of  giving  a  yacht  capable  of  general  use  other  than  racing, 
preventing  the  speedy  out-building  and  increasing  the  sale  value.  In  the  former 
class  certain  definite  limits  are  set  to  the  size,  type,  draft,  method  of  construction, 
and  the  minimum  amount  of  interior  furnishing,  the  owner  and  designer 
being  free  to  follow  their  own  ideas  as  to  details  of  dimensions,  model,  fittings, 
etc.      In  the  one-design  class,  as  its   name  indicates,  no   liberty  of  choice  is   left 


-> 

J 


56 


Yachting 


to  individual  owners  after  the  founders  of  the  class  have  once  decided  upon  a 
standard  design.  In  the  organization  of  either  a  restricted  or  a  one-design  class 
the  same  method  is  usually  followed,  the  initiative  is  taken  by  a  few  individuals 
who  decide  on  the  general  character  of  boat  which  they  wish  to  build,  a  pro- 
spectus is  issued,  other  yachtsmen  are  invited  to  join,  and  meetings  are  held.      If 

a  restricted  class  is  desired,  certain  restric- 
tions of  dimensions,  construction,  fittings, 
etc.,  are  drawn  up  and  accepted  by  all  who 
propose  to  build  for  the  class ;  in  the  case  of 
a  one-design  class,  designers  are  invited  to 
submit  designs  conforming  to  certain  gen- 
eral limitations  decided  on  by  the  members 
of  the  class,  one  design  is  selected  as  a  stand- 
ard, and  a  contract  is  made  with  one  build- 
er, for  a  number  of  boats  all  identical  in 
every  respect.  Since  the  racing  machine  has 
monopolized  the  racing  to  the  exclusion  of 
the  older  types  of  yachts,  the  restricted  and 
one-design  classes  have  become  a  necessity, 
and  they  have  done  much  good  in  counter- 
acting the  twin  evils  of  extreme  freak  form 
and  fragile  construction.  The  great  need 
of  yachting  is  a  uniform  measurement  rule 
applicable  to  all  decked  yachts,  under  which  a  limited  number  of  fixed  classes 
can  be  built  up,  every  yacht  to  the  maximum  measurement  of  the  class;  and 
all  raced  without  time  allowance. 

The  technical  history  of  the  first  half  of  the  century  is  closely  interwoven 
with  that  of  the  Stevens  family,  of  Hoboken,  N.  J.,  the  family  estate.  Castle 
Point,  on  a  lofty  promontory  overlooking  the  Hudson  and  New  York  City,  still 
existing  in  all  its  beauty  in  spite  of  the  miles  of  wharves  and  warehouses  on  either 
side.  The  father,  John  Stevens,  was  one  of  the  leading  inventors  in  marine 
engineering,  his  experimental  steamer,  launched  in  1804,  embodying,  the  twin- 
screw  propeller,  the  high-pressure  engine  working  at  a  high  speed,  and  other 
ideas  which  though  impracticable  in  those  days  of  primitive  shop  tools,  have 
since  produced  the  modern  torpedo-boat,  ocean  greyhound,  and  high-speed 
yacht.  In  the  course  of  a  busy  life  devoted  to  the  development  of  both  the 
mechanical  and  the  financial  sides  of  railway  and  steamboat  travel,  he  found 
time  for  many  independent  inventions,  among  them  a  revolving  steam-battery 
plated  with  iron,  the  prototype  of  the  modern  warship.  The  three  sons, 
John   C,  Edwin   A.,  and   Robert   L.,   inherited   the  ability   and   energy   of  the 


E.  A.  Willard. 


Yachting 


357 


father  ;  to  them  are  due  many  inventions  in  the  Une  of  railroading  and  steam- 
boating,  as  well  as  the  establishment  of  various  early  lines  :  the  iirst  use  of 
anthracite  coal,  the  T-rail  used  to-day  on  all  the  railroads  of  the  world  (with 
the  rolls  for  its  production),  the  improvement  of  the  marine  beam-engine,  and 
important  inventions  in  shells  for  the  smooth-bore  guns  formerly  in  use.  The 
father's  project  of  a  great  floating  fort  was 
developed  by  the  sons  in  the  famous  Stevens 
Battery,  designed  and  built  by  them  at  Ho- 
boken,  but  uncompleted  at  the  time  of  the 
Rebellion.  With  the  broad  Hudson  before 
him,  then  crossed  only  by  means  ot  row- 
boats,  it  is  not  surprising  that  John  C.  Ste- 
vens was  a  boat  sailer  trom  his  boyhood,  and 
as  early  as  1809  he  built  a  small  sailing-boat. 
Diver,  20  feet  long.  In  18 16  he  built  a 
larger  sailing-boat.  Trouble,  56  feet  long, 
with  two  masts,  a  pirogue,  or,  in  local  par- 
lance, "  periagua,"  a  sort  of  big  canoe  then 
in  use  for  passenger  traffic  between  New 
York  City  and  Staten  Island  and  the  Jersey 
shore.  Other  boats  followed,  among  them  a 
catamaran.  Double  Trouble,  in  1820,  and  by 
1832  Mr.  Stevens  had  advanced  to  the  dignity 

of  real  yacht  ownership  in  the  schooner  Wave,  of  65  feet  water-line,  built  by 
Bell  &  Brown,  shipbuilders,  at  the  foot  of  Houston  Street,  East  River,  New  York. 
There  is  a  vague  record  of  a  schooner  yacht  named  Hornet,  as  built  in  Balti- 
more in  I  819,  the  same  boat,  after  alterations  by  George  Steers  in  1851,  being 
known  as  Sport.  She  is  probably  the  first  American  yacht,  but  at  the  time  Wave 
was  built  there  were  several  others,  notably  Dream,  built  by  Webb  &  Allen,  of 
New  York,  47  feet  over  all,  and  Sylph,  built  by  Wetmore  &  Holbrook,  in  Bos- 
ton, in  1833,  for  John  P.  Gushing.  These  yachts  were  cruising  craft  of  heavy 
build,  more  or  less  allied  in  model  to  the  pilot-boats  and  fishing-boats  ot  the 
day,  and  owned  by  a  few  gentlemen  of  nautical  tastes.  In  1839  Wave  was 
replaced  by  Onkahie,  a  schooner  of  91  feet  water-line  and  two  hundred  and 
fifty  tons.  The  originality  of  her  owner  was  shown  in  the  use  of  an  iron  keel 
with  a  bow  of  unusual  fineness  for  those  days.  Following  her  came  Gimcrack, 
in  June,  1844,  designed  by  George  Steers  and  built  by  William  Capes,  at 
Hoboken.  This  historic  craft  was  5 1  feet  over  all,  49  feet  water-line,  i  3  feet 
6  inches  breadth,  5  feet  2  inches  depth  of  hold,  and  7  feet  6  inches  draft, 
including  a  fin  of  plate-iron  extending  about  four  feet  below  the  garboards,  but 


Edward  Burgess. 


J) 


5S 


Yachting 


lacking  the  bulb  which  characterizes  the  modern  fin-keel.  It  was  in  the  cabin 
of  Gimcrack,  anchored  off  the  Battery,  New  York,  that  the  New  York  Yacht 
Club  was  organized  on  July  30,  1844,  the  yachts  represented   being  Gimcrack, 

John  C.  Stevens ;  Spray,  Hamilton  Wilkes ;  Cyg- 
net, William  Edgar  ;  La  Coquille,  John  C.  Jay ; 
Dream,  George  L.  Schuyler  ;  Mist,  Louis  A.  De- 
pau  ;  Minna,  George  B.  Rollins ;  Adda,  Captain 
Rogers.  The  club  was  housed  in  the  Elysian 
Fields,  Weehawken,  just  north  of  the  Stevens  es- 
tate, and  in  1845  ^^'^  '^^^^  x'^lCq  was  sailed,  the  yachts 
being  in  one  class,  with  no  distinctions  of  rig  or 
size,  the  allowance  being  forty-five  seconds  per  ton 
ot  Custom-house  measurement.  In  the  earlier  regat- 
tas, though  pilots  were  allowed,  it  was  expressly  stip- 
ulated that  only  members  should  handle  the  yachts. 
Established  on  what  has  proved  to  be  a  firm 
and  enduring  basis,  the  sport  flourished  from  the 
start,  new  yachts  were  in  demand,  and  a  man  was 
found  to  build  them,  George  Steers,  the  son  of  an 
English  shipwright,  long  resident  in  this  country. 
Mr.  Steers  had  already  made  a  reputation  as  a  ship- 
builder and  a  designer,  as  design  was  understood  in  those  days;  being  prominent 
even  among  the  shipbuilders  of  New  York,  where  the  craft  was  then  in  its  glory. 
Among  other  yachts  he  built  La  Coquille  in  1842,  Cygnet  and  Gimcrack  in 
1844,  and  Cornelia  and  Una  in  1847,  all  but  the  last  being  schooners.  These 
yachts  were  largely  keel-boats  with  the  familiar  "cod's  head  and  mackerel's  tail  " 
model  of  the  day,  the  bows  being  full  and  bluff  and  the  runs  remarkably  fine. 

While  many  of  the  owners  were  well  content  to  cruise  and  race  in  their 
boats  as  they  came  from  the  builders'  hands,  the  restless  energy  and  activity  of 
Commodore  Stevens  and  George  Steers  demanded  better  things.  Together  they 
produced  the  big  centreboard  cutter  Maria,  built  by  William  Capes  at  Hoboken 
in  1847-48,  of  92  feet  water-line.  This  yacht  was  one  great  experiment,  having 
a  lead  shoe  outside  of  her  keel  and  garboards,  a  mast  bored  out  hollow,  a  boom 
built  up  like  a  barrel  with  long  staves  trussed  inside,  a  centreboard  of  iron  and 
lead  lowered  by  a  special  gear,  both  ends  dropping  together,  but  the  after  end 
the  more  rapidly.  In  addition  she  had  a  second  and  smaller  board  aft.  The 
mainsail  and  jib  were  made  with  the  cloths  running  parallel  with  the  foot  in- 
stead of  the  leach,  as  in  ordinary  sails. 

There  is  a  void  in  this  period  of  yachting  history  which  it  would  be  most 
interesting   to  fill,  but  where  only  conjecture  is   possible.      Up  to  i  846  or  i  847 


y.   Frederic   Tarns. 


Yachting 


359 


all  yachts  were  built  after  the  then  universal  model  of  "  cod's  head  and  mackerel's 
tail,"  the  blunt  end  foremost,  the  propriety  of  this  method  being  accepted  by 
builders,  then  the  sole  arbiters  of  design,  in  both  England  and  America  ;  George 
Steers  in  common  with  the  rest.  A  study  ot  the 
work  of  this  really  great  shipwright  will  show  a 
gradual  change  about  this  time,  which  had  gone  so 
far  by  1849  that  his  pilot-boat  Mary  Taylor  of  that 
date,  renowned  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  had  a 
remarkably  hollow  bow  and  a  run  that  was  propor- 
tionately full  ;  in  fact  the  old  model  reversed  end 
for  end.  What  caused  this  great  change  in  so  short 
a  time  is  in  no  way  recorded,  but  there  is  a  theory 
which  is  at  least  plausible.  The  Stevens  brothers 
were  in  close  touch  with  all  the  scientific  move- 
ments of  the  day  at  home  and  abroad,  they  were 
familiar  with  the  works  and  writings  of  the  leading 
men  in  railroading,  marine  engineering,  and  the 
kindred  subjects  in  which  they  were  interested,  and 
in  the  transactions  of  the  various  societies.  It  is  in 
every  way  probable  that  they  were  familiar  with  the 
writings  of  the  late  John  Scott  Russell  in  the  cause 
of  his  wave-line  theory,  on  which  subject  he  had  written  and  lectured  for  some 
years.  It  would  be  natural  that,  once  acquainted  with  the  new  and  most  fasci- 
nating theory  of  the  wave  line,  Commodore  Stevens  should  communicate  it  to 
his  associate,  Mr.  Steers,  and  that  they  should  work  together  in  its  practical  ap- 
plication. At  any  rate,  after  feeling  his  way  in  several  earlier  boats,  George 
Steers  produced  the  Mary  Taylor  in  i  849,  and  in  the  following  year  Maria  was 
lengthened  to  i  i  o  feet  water-line  by  the  addition  of  i  8  feet  to  her  bow. 

On  May  3,  1851,  there  was  launched  from  the  shipyard  of  William  H. 
Brown,  in  the  shipbuilding  district  along  the  East  River,  New  York,  a  schooner 
yacht,  designed  by  George  Steers  for  Commodore  Stevens,  his  brother  Edwin  A., 
and  Messrs.  Hamilton  Wilkes,  George  L.  Schuyler,  James  Hamilton,  and  J.  Beek- 
man  Finley,  all  of  the  New  York  Yacht  Club.  This  yacht  was  named  America 
and  the  intention  of  her  owners  was  to  take  her  abroad  on  the  occasion  of  the 
first  great  World's  Fair,  the  Crystal  Palace  Exhibition  in  London,  as  an  exhibit 
of  American  skill  and  for  the  purpose  of  trying  her  with  the  fleet  of  British 
yachts.  Curiously  enough,  there  being  no  ocean  cable  in  those  days,  just  six 
days  after  America  was  launched  the  Royal  Yacht  Squadron  at  a  general  meeting 
decided  to  ofl^er  a  cup  of  a  value  of  one  hundred  guineas  for  competition  by  the 
yachts  of  all   nations,  the  course   to   be  around   the  Isle  of  Wight,  starting  and 


Rutherfurd  Stuyvesant. 


s6o 


Yachting 


%■ 


finishing  off  Cowes.  America  was  duly  fitted  out,  and  after  some  trials  against 
Maria,  in  which  the  old  boat  came  off  the  better,  she  sailed  for  Havre,  with  her 
designer  on  board  and  a  noted  New  York  pilot,  Dick  Brown,  as  skipper.  The 
speed  displayed  in  her  casual  sailing  about  Cowes  made  it  impossible  to  obtain  a 

match  with   any  representative  yacht   of 
..-.--^s^r^^  the  Royal  Yacht  Squadron,  and  the  only 

chance  tor  a  trial  was   in   the  open   race 

tor   the  Squadron  cup,  above  mentioned, 

a-  \  set  for  August  2 2d.      How  this  race  was 

sailed  and  won  by  America,  against  a 
tieet  of  seven  schooners  and  eight  cutters, 
is  a  familiar  tale,  the  Yankee  yacht  car- 
rying oft^  the  cup.  On  its  merits,  owing 
to  the  disparity  in  size  and  rig  of  the 
competing  yachts,  the  nature  ot  the 
course,  and  the  very  light  weather,  the 
race  amounted  to  little  ;  but  it  was  treely 
conceded  by  the  British  press  and  the 
yachting  world  that  America  was  far 
superior  to  all  the  home-built  cratt. 

America  was  sold  abroad,  her  own- 
ers returned  to  New  York,  and  the  course 
of  yachting  in  the  club  resumed  its  old- 
time  serenity  with  the  annual  regatta  in 
June,  later  the  annual  cruise,  and  occasional  private  matches,  with  much  cruising 
about  the  Sound.  By  degrees  the  racing  took  on  more  definite  form;  in  1852 
the  fleet  was  divided  into  three  classes,  over  fifty  tons  Custom-house  measure- 
ment, between  twenty-five  and  fifty  tons,  and  under  twenty-five  tons,  each  class 
being  made  up  ot  schooners  and  sloops  together.  In  Maria,  America,  and  the 
other  earlier  yachts  the  topmasts  were  of  small  size  and  nearly  all  the  canvas 
was  in  the  two  or  three  lower  sails,  but  later  on  topsails  were  carried,  and  about 
1854  balloon  sails  became  an  important  part  of  the  racing  equipment.  The 
death  of  George  Steers,  through  a  fall  in  driving,  occurred  in  1856,  and  that  of 
Commodore  Stevens  a  couple  of  years  afterward,  thus  robbing  yachting  of  two 
of  its  ablest  and  most  earnest  supporters.  A  number  of  yachts  were  built  between 
1850  and  I  860,  the  sloop  rig  coming  into  greater  favor  ;  strange  to  say,  atter  the 
victory  of  America,  the  keel  type  was  generally  neglected,  and  the  efforts  of 
American  owners  and  builders  were  concentrated  on  the  extreme  type  of  shoal, 
wide  centreboard  sloop,  the  skimming  dish.  The  leading  builders  of  the  day. 
Captain  "  Bob  "  Fish,  of  Bayonne,  N.  J.,  whose  fame  in  small  catboats  lives  to- 


Charles   J.  Paine. 


Yachting 


361 


day  in  the  generic  name  of  the  type  in  Germany,  "  Bubfish  "  boats,  and  D.  D. 
Mallory,  of  Noank,  Conn.,  turned  out  such  sloops  as  Newburgh,  Undine,  Ger- 
trude, Victoria,  and  Eva,  designed  by  the  former,  and  Richmond,  Mallory,  Mystic, 
Haswell,  and  Plover,  by  the  latter.  The  course  of  yachting  ran  quietly  in  these 
days,  the  New  York  Yacht  Club  being 
alone;  in  i  854  the  Southern  Yacht  Club, 
of  New  Orleans,  and  the  Carolina  Yacht 
Club,  of  Wilmington,  N.  C,  were  or- 
ganized, but  they  were  purely  local  clubs, 
as  was  the  Royal  Halifax  Yacht  Club, 
organized  in  1857,  ^^  Halifax,  N.  S.  In 
this  latter  year  the  Brooklyn  Yacht  Club 
was  established,  and  a  year  later  the  Jer- 
sey City  Yacht  Club.  Up  to  1856  Cus- 
tom-house tonnage  was  the  sole  basis  of 
measurement,  merely  as  a  matter  of  usage 
and  convenience,  but  in  that  year  the 
first  measurement  rule  was  formulated 
and  adopted  by  the  New  York  Yacht 
Club,  based  on  sail  area  only,  each  yacht 
paying  for  the  sails,  including  ballooners, 
actually  set  in  the  race.  The  complica- 
tion and  impracticability  of  this  system 
speedily  condemned  it,  and  after  a  couple 

of  seasons  it  was  replaced  by  a  new  rule,  the  length  on  the  water-line  multiplied 
by  the  extreme  breadth. 

The  Rebellion  naturally  had  a  serious  effect  upon  yachting,  and  the  sport 
was  almost  at  a  standstill  for  several  years,  but  with  the  war  over  a  new  era 
opened.  The  schooner  Alarm  was  built  in  1864,  the  next  year  came  Idler, 
Fleetwing,  Palmer,  and  Phantom;  in  1866  Vesta  and  Dauntless,  and  in  1867 
Sappho.  The  scale  on  which  yacht-racing  was  carried  on  at  this  day  by  the 
v/ealthy  men  who  had  taken  it  up,  not  alone  for  the  love  of  sailing  but  purely 
as  a  sport,  is  shown  in  the  great  ocean  race  sailed  in  December,  1866,  from  New 
York  to  the  Needles,  Isle  of  Wight.  The  competitors  were  the  schooners 
Vesta,  Pierre  Lorillard ;  Fleetwing,  Franklin  and  George  A.  Osgood  ;  and  Hen- 
rietta, James  Gordon  Bennett  ;  the  stakes  were  $30,000  per  boat,  and  the  race 
of  3,106  miles,  as  logged  by  the  winner,  Henrietta,  was  sailed  under  full  racing 
spars. 

This  race  was  but  the  beginning  of  a  striking  period  of  yachting  history; 
following  it  other   American  schooners  crossed  the  Atlantic  and  raced  abroad 


C.   Oliver  Iselin. 


362 


Yachting 


«5??-'- 


with  varying  success,  and  in  1870  the  American  schooner  Sappho  won  a  series 
of  three  races  sailed  outside  the  Isle  of  Wight  with  the  British  schooner  Cam- 
bria, both  keel  yachts ;  and  in  July  ot  the  same  year  Cambria  and  the  keel 
schooner  Dauntless  raced  from  Gaunt  Head,  Ireland,  to  Sandy  Hook  Lightship 
for  a  cup  of  ^250  value,  Cambria  winning  by  one  hour  and  seventeen  minutes. 
The  main  object   of  Cambria's  visit  was  no  less  a  task  than  the  recapturing  of 

the  Royal  Yacht  Squadron  Cup,  won  in  1851 
by   America.      This   prize  was  given   as  the 
absolute  property  of  the  yacht   first  winning 
it,  and  on  the  sale  of  America  abroad  it  went, 
apparently    by   the    common   consent  ot   the 
joint    owners   of  the   yacht,  to   Commodore 
Stevens,  the  head  of  the  venture.      It  graced 
the   parlors   of  his    New  York   residence    in 
Washington  Square  for  some  years,  but  after 
the  death  oi  Mrs.  Stevens  and  the  consequent 
changes  in  the  home,  some  more  permanent 
disposition  of  such  a  valuable  trophy  became 
desirable.       Commodore    Stevens    called    to- 
gether his  old  associates,  his  brother  Edwin, 
Hamilton   Wilkes,    J.   Beekman   Finley,  and 
George   L.  Schuyler,   and   on  July   8,  1857, 
they    drew    up    the   first    Deed    of   Gift,    by 
which  the  Royal  Yacht   Squadron   Cup  was 
dedicated  as  a  "  perpetual  challenge  cup  for  friendly  competition  between  foreign 
countries."      At  the  same  time  the  trophy,  since  known  as   the  America   Cup, 
was  given   in   trust  to  the  New  York  Yacht  Club  to  be  held  open  to  free  chal- 
lenge by  all  foreign   yachts  of  not  less  than  thirty  nor  more  than  three  hundred 
tons  Custom-house  measurement.      The  one  prominent  feature  of  this  document 
is  the  plain  provision  that  the  match   is  to  be  arranged,  if  possible,  by  "  mutual 
consent,"  certain  ultimate  terms  being  provided  in  the  event  of  a  disagreement. 
After  a  great  deal  of  correspondence  and  negotiation,  the  only  terms  which 
Mr.  Ashbury,  owner  of  Cambria,  could  obtain  from  the  New  York  Yacht  Club 
were   that   he  should   be  allowed   to  sail   one   race   over   the  club   course,   then 
starting  inside   the   Narrows,  ofl^  Stapleton,   Staten   Island.      The   holder   ot  the 
Cup  refused  to  enter  into  any  such  mutual  agreement  as  the  Deed  of  Gift  called 
for,  and  simply  laid  down  absolute  terms  to  which  the  challenger  was  obliged  to 
accede,  one  of  these  being  that  all  the  yachts  of  the  club  fleet  should  be  allowed 
to  race  against  the  single  British  challenger.      Though  only  twenty-four  yachts, 
all  of  them  schooners,  availed  themselves  of  the  privilege,  nine  of  them  finishing 


William   Krebs. 


Yachting 


3^3 


ahead  of  Cambria,  the  race  was  a  farce.  The  protests  of  the  better  sportsmen 
of  the  ckib,  headed  by  Mr.  George  L.  Schuyler,  then  the  only  survivor  of  the 
original  owners  of  America,  brought  about  a  change  before  the  next  season,  when 
Mr.  Ashbury  returned  with  a  new  schooner,  Livonia,  specially  built  for  the  pur- 
pose ;  and  this  time  he  was  given  a  series  of  races,  some  over  outside  courses, 
and  in  each  against  one  competitor  only.  The  New  York  Yacht  Club,  however, 
reserved  the  right  to  name  four  yachts  to  de- 
fend the  Cup,  picking  one  of  the  four  just 
prior  to  the  start,  according  to  the  weather. 
The  four  named  were  the  keel  schooners 
Sappho  and  Dauntless  and  the  centreboard 
schooners  Columbia  and  Palmer.  Columbia 
won  the  first  two  races,  but  lost  the  third 
through  the  failure  of  steering-gear  and  por- 
tions of  her  rig  ;  she  was  then  withdrawn  and 
Sappho  substituted,  she  winning  her  first  race 
and  losing  the  second  ;  so  that  the  record 
stood  three  to  two  against  the  challenger. 
There  were  several  unpleasant  incidents, 
which  it  is  needless  to  recall  now.  These 
great  international  races  extending  over  a 
number  of  years  did  much  to  advertise  and 
popularize  yachting  throughout  the  country, 
and   to   make  it  far  more  than  the  sport  of 

a  few  men  on  the  sea-coast.  One  result  was  soon  visible  in  the  establish- 
ment of  many  new  clubs,  the  Boston  in  1865,  the  Atlantic  in  1866,  the 
San  Francisco  in  1867,  the  Eastern  in  1870,  and  the  Seawanhaka  in  1871, 
with  many  small  clubs  between  the  Delaware  River  and  Portland,  Me.  Yacht- 
ing and  yacht-racing  flourished  and  the  sport  was  in  a  very  prosperous  con- 
dition. The  one  serious  drawback  was  that  the  development  was  confined 
almost  exclusively  to  the  shoal  centreboard  type,  which  prevailed  in  all  classes, 
even  up  to  the  largest  schooners.  The  speed  of  the  fast  open  sand-bag  boats, 
coupled  with  the  lack  of  even  elementary  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  naval 
architecture  on  the  part  of  both  owners  and  builders,  led  to  the  enlargement  of 
this  model  to  the  most  absurd  and  dangerous  dimensions,  the  climax  being 
reached  in  the  schooner  Mohawk,  of  i  2 1  feet  water-line  and  but  6  feet  draft, 
whose  capsize  in  New  York  Bay  on  a  clear  day  in  July,  1876,  cost  the  lives  of 
her  owner.  Commodore  Garner,  his  wife  and  several  friends. 

At  this  time  the   designing   of  yachts,  if  it   could   be  dignified   by  such  a 
name,  was  exclusively  in  the  hands  of  the  builders,  many  of  them  men  of  natural 


J.  R.  Maxwell. 


3^4 


Yachting 


ability  and  intelligence,  good  boat  sailers  and  clever  mechanics,  but  lacking 
both  in  scientific  training  and  in  a  general  knowledge  of  vessels  and  yachts  out- 
side the  particular  type  in  which  they  had  been  successful.  Their  method  of 
working  was  to  whittle  a  model  from  a  block  of  soft  wood,  being  guided  solely 
by  the  eye  and  their  individual   ideas  as  to  what  was  proper  ;   the  lines  being 

taken  from  the  model  and  laid  down 
on  the  floor.  In  the  course  of  con- 
struction the  original  lines  were  de- 
parted from  at  the  w  h  i  m  of  the 
builder  or  to  suit  the  material  at 
hand,  or  other  exigencies.  The 
owner  pretended  to  no  knowledge 
of  the  subject,  but  left  all  to  the 
builder. 

The  first  protest  against  this 
state  of  afl^airs  came  from  the  late 
Robert  Center,  who,  on  returning 
from  Europe  after  crossing  as  one  ot 
the  guests  on  Fleetwing  in  the  race 
of  1866,  brought  with  him  a  copy 
of  a  then  comparatively  new  book, 
"Yacht  Building,"  by  Philip  R. 
Marett,  an  English  Corinthian.  In 
this  book  was  laid  down,  for  the 
benefit  of  yacht-owners,  a  definite 
system  of  yacht  designing  according 
to  modern  methods,  and  many  lines 
of  noted  yachts  were  given  in  large  plates.  Mr.  Center  was  then  an  intimate 
friend  of  Mr.  A.  Cary  Smith,  who  was  making  a  reputation  for  himself  as  a 
marine  artist  after  having  grown  up  in  the  open-boat  racing  about  New  York 
Bay  and  worked  at  yacht-building  with  Captain  Bob  Fish.  All  of  Mr.  Smith's 
training  had  been  after  the  old  methods,  the  rule-o'-thumb  precepts  and  the 
block  model,  but  at  Mr.  Center's  suggestion  he  set  to  work  with  the  new  book 
as  a  guide  to  study  both  the  English  type  of  yacht  and  the  new  method  ot 
making  a  complete  plan  of  the  yacht  on  paper,  regardless  of  any  model,  as  the 
basis  for  building.  The  result  was  the  cutter  Vindex,  designed  by  Mr.  Smith 
and  built  of  iron  by  the  firm  of  Reaney,  Son  &  Archbold,  the  predecessors  of 
the  late  John  Roach  at  the  famous  Chester  shipyard.  Vindex  was  65  feet  6 
inches  over  all,  56  feet  water-line,  17  feet  3  inches  breadth,  and  8  feet  9  inches 
draft,  and  rigged  as  an  English  cutter  of  the  day.      Her  ballast  was  in  the  form 


Henry   C.   Rouse. 


Co 


I 
S" 


::^ 


s- 


^ 


to 


!W 


If 


,'  l-J^. 


Yachting 


3 


67 


of  heavy  iron  garboards  and  inside  lead.  The  design  was  a  modification  of 
Mosquito,  one  of  the  remarkable  cutters  of  her  day.  This  yacht  was  built  on 
the  Thames  in  1848,  and,  probably  through  the  influence  of  Mr.  Scott  Rus- 
sell's propaganda,  she  was  very  fine  forward  with  a  long  hollow  bow.  It  may 
be  said  here  that  the  beautiful  and  elaborate  theories  of  Mr.  Scott  Russell  were 
of  no  direct  benefit  to  himself  or 
others ;  they  resulted  in  a  failure 
when  applied  by  him  to  his  schooner 
yacht  Titania,  defeated  in  1851  in  a 
match  with  America.  At  the  same 
time  these  same  theories  were  di- 
rectly responsible  for  the  production 
of  Mosquito,  a  wonderful  yacht  in 
her  day,  and  it  is  probable  that  to 
them  is  due  the  inspiration  which 
led  George  Steers  to  virtually  turn 
his  old  models  end  for  end,  making 
the  fine  end  the  bow.  The  recep- 
tion accorded  to  Vindex  was  any- 
thing but  flattering  ;  the  practical 
builders  declared  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  build  a  yacht  from  paper 
plans  and  without  a  block  model, 
and  further  declared  that  an  iron 
vessel  would  inevitably  sink.  The 
yachtsmen  of  the  day  largely  shared 
these  views,  with  a  national  preju- 
dice against  deep-keel  boats  and  everything  of  British  origin.  If  to  any  one 
individual  may  be  awarded  the  foremost  place  as  the  ideal  of  the  American 
gentleman  sportsman,  that  man  is  Robert  Center  ;  his  triple  claim  lies  in  his 
lifelong  devotion  to  every  form  of  manly  sport,  his  high  and  rigid  ideals  of 
fair  play,  and  his  personal  participation  and  intimate  technical  knowledge. 
In  none  of  the  many  sports  with  which  he  was  connected  was  he  content  to  be 
an  onlooker,  but  he  never  rested  until  he  had  mastered  every  technical  detail 
of  both  theory  and  practice.  In  yachting  as  in  all  else  he  was  equally  at  home 
at  the  tiller,  in  cruising  or  racing,  about  the  deck,  on  a  regatta  or  other  im- 
portant committee,  or  over  the  drawing-board,  his  personal  work  in  designing 
being  a  miracle  of  exactness  and  neatness.  The  general  opposition  to  Vindex 
and  all  that  she  represented  aroused  all  of  his  combative  spirit,  and  when  the 
rest  of  the  fleet  laid  up  in  October,  she  and  her  owner  spent  most  of  the  winter 


August   Belmont. 


36S 


Yachting 


outside  Sandy  Hook  with   the   pilot-boats,  flying   the  red  burgee  with   its  black 
Maltese  cross  and  showing  what  a  cutter  could  do. 

Thus  far  the  racing  had  been  under  various  rules,  first  the  Custom-house 
measurement  inscribed  on  the  main  boom  ot  every  yacht,  second  a  peculiar  sail- 
area   rule,  and   third   the  product   of  water-line  and   breadth.      This  latter  rule 

was  in  use  when  Cambria  raced  for  the  Cup 
in  1870,  but  it  so  plainly  favored  the  nar- 
rower British  model  that  it  was  changed  the 
following  winter  and  the  "  cubic-contents  "  rule 
adopted  —  practically  the  whole  bulk  of  the 
vessel  up  to  the  deck,  excluding  overhangs. 
Under  this  rule  the  heavy-displacement  Brit- 
ish schooner  or  cutter  with  high  freeboard  had 
little  chance  of  success  against  the  low -sided 
skimming-dish  such  as  Columbia. 

While  Vindex  was  doing  good  work  alone 
outside  the  Hook  in  winter  and  with  the  fleet 
in  the  Sound  in  summer,  the  course  of  building 
went  on  much  as  before,  all  being  left  to  the 
rule -o' -thumb  builders  and  a  few  who  were 
not  builders  but  were  expert  in  modelling.  In 
1876  Mr.  John  Hyslop,  an  amateur,  designed 
for  himself  a  smaller  cutter.  Petrel,  of  28  feet 
water-line,  intended  for  cruising,  her  keel  being 
partly  iron  and  partly  lead,  but  for  some  years 
afterward  a  very  successful  racer  in  the  cabin 
class.  In  1877  Mr.  Center  himself  designed 
a  cutter,  Volante,  a  cruising  cutter  of  40  feet  water-line,  for  his  two  young 
nephews,  which  turned  out  a  very  successful  craft  and  is  afloat  to-day. 

The  second  match  for  the  America  Cup  was  sailed  in  1876,  the  challenger 
being  the  schooner  Countess  of  Dufferin,  built  on  Lake  Ontario  by  Alexander 
Cuthbert,  a  local  builder  ;  she  was  of  the  American  type  of  centreboard  boat 
and  possessed  no  important  differences  in  type  from  the  schooner  Madeline, 
which  beat  her  in  two  races,  the  match  this  year  being  arranged  on  the  basis 
of  two  out  of  three  races,  with  one  defending  boat  selected  in  advance.  Greatly 
superior  in  details  of  hull  and  rig,  Madeline  won  an  easy  victory.  In  the  same 
year,  a  very  active  one  in  racing  owing  to  the  Centennial  regattas  held  at  New 
York,  the  first  of  the  famous  Herreshoff  catamarans,  Amaryllis,  made  her  debut 
in  New  York  waters,  this  novel  type  being  the  fashion  with  ultra  racing  men 
for  the  next  half-dozen  years.     In  1877  the  catamaran  fever  was  epidemic  about 


L.  F.  d'Oremieulx. 


Yachting 


369 


New  York  and  Staten  Island,  various  experiments  being  tried,  notably  the  large 
double-hulled  schooner  Nereid,  built  for  Mr.  Anson  Phelps  Stokes,  which  was 
a  failure.  Before  this  much  was  ascertained  by  actual  trial,  the  reputed  speed 
of  the  new  wonder  caused  consternation  among  owners,  and  very  strong  efforts 
were  made  to  bar  her  from  all  club  races,  fortunately  without  success.  One 
ingenious  proposal  was   to   measure   her   out   by 

including   all   the  water  enclosed    between   the  - 

two   widely  separated   hulls  as   part   of  the  cu- 
bic contents  of  the  yacht  under  the  rule. 

The  day  of  the  big  racing  schooner  ended 
with  the  capsize  of  Mohawk  in  1876  and  the 
building  of  the  unwieldy  Ambassadress  for  the 
late  William  Astor,  a  cruising  schooner  of  i  30 
feet  water-line,  in  1877  ;  by  degrees  the  sloops, 
large  and  small,  increased  in  number  and  took 
the  lead  in  the  racing.  The  small  sloops  and 
catboats  were  found  in  great  numbers  about 
New  York,  Boston,  and  Long  Island  Sound,  the 
eastern  boats  being  of  better  model,  as  the  New 
York  craft  were  so  wide  and  shoal  as  to  well 
merit  the  derisive  title'  of  "  flatiron."  At  the 
other  end  the  sloop  fleet  was  growing  gradually 
into  the  70-foot  class.  The  many  clubs  at  this 
time  were  doing  good  work  in  the  general  sup- 
port of  yachting  and  encouragement  of  racing, 
but  they  had  not  yet   learned  to  work  together. 

It  was  about  1878  that  various  disturbing 
elements  made  themselves  felt  in  the  comparatively  tranquil  field  of  yachting. 
Up  to  this  time  the  adherents  of  rival  builders  had  waged  a  mild  warfare  over 
the  respective  merits  of  their  favorites  ;  but  no  fault  was  found  save  with  specific 
yachts,  no  one  had  dared  to  hint  that  the  national  type  of  shoal  skimming- 
dish  was  other  than  absolutely  perfect. 

One  of  the  signs  of  impending  trouble  was  the  designing  of  the  keel 
schooner  Intrepid  by  Mr.  A.  Cary  Smith  for  Mr.  Lloyd  Phoenix,  a  radical 
departure  from  the  accepted  ideals  of  what  a  sea-going  cruiser  should  be.  With 
this  the  Seawanhaka  Corinthian  Yacht  Club  induced  Mr.  Smith  to  deliver  a 
series  of  lectures  before  the  club  on  the  subject  of  yacht-designing,  which  was 
treated  very  simply  and  explicitly  for  the  purpose  of  interesting  those  yacht- 
owners  who  had  thus  far  taken  little  thought  of  such  abstruse  matters,  leaving 
them  to  their  builders  and  skippers.      All  this  was  in  line  with  the  work  which 


Archibald  Rogers. 


J> 


370 


Yachting 


the  same  club  had  done  since  its  birth  in  encouraging  Corinthian  principles  and 
the  education  of  the  yacht-owner  in  handling  or  at  least  knowing  thoroughly 
his  own  craft.  From  small  beginnings  extending  over  several  years,  a  revolt 
was  finally  under  way  against  the  whole  existing  order  of  yachting.     The  "  cutter 

cranks,"  as  they  were  derisively  called, 
were  all  of  them  Americans,  and  in  no 
way  lacking  in  patriotism,  but  they  took 
the  ground  that  the  questions  at  issue  were 
purely  technical,  to  be  decided  upon  their 
actual  merits  and  not  upon  their  national- 
ity. Among  the  many  reforms  which  they 
advocated,  the  leading  ones  were  a  radical 
change  of  model  through  a  lessening  of 
the  breadth,  the  increase  of  depth  of  body 
and  draft,  the  addition  of  a  lead  keel,  and 
the  adoption  of  the  cutter  rig  in  place  of 
the  sloop  rig.  In  the  matter  of  designing 
they  advocated  the  educated  naval  archi- 
tect with  his  complete  plans  and  calcu- 
lations in  place  of  the  builder  with  his 
wooden  model  ;  in  racing  methods  they 
upheld  Corinthian  sailing,  the  building  to 
fixed  classes  without  time  allowance,  the 
starting  from  one  gun  instead  of  two  with  an  interval  of  five  to  fifteen  minutes 
between,  and  many  similar  details.  It  was  in  this  year  that  the  cutter  Muriel, 
an  English  design,  was  launched,  followed  later  by  the  little  Yolande,  designed 
by  Mr.  M.  Roosevelt  Schuyler,  the  most  prominent  of  the  "cutter  cranks." 

What  eventually  proved  to  be  a  serious  blow  at  the  old  ideas  was  the  build- 
ing in  1879  of  the  iron  sloop  Mischief,  designed  by  Mr.  A.  Cary  Smith,  a 
centreboard  boat  and  with  the  single  jib,  the  distinctive  mark  of  the  national 
rig,  but  embodying  in  a  moderate  degree  all  the  ideas  of  the  new  cult.  In  her 
many  races  with  the  old  type  of  sloop,  Gracie,  Fanny,  Hildegarde,  Vision, 
Arrow,  and  Pocahontas,  she  fully  demonstrated  the  value  of  the  many  new 
points  of  her  design  and  construction.  In  1881  she  was  selected  after  a  series 
of  trial  races  with  the  other  sloops,  the  first  ever  held  in  the  Cup  contests,  to 
defend  the  America  Cup  against  a  new  challenger,  the  Canadian  sloop  Atalanta, 
also  built  by  Cuthbert.  Both  yachts  being  of  the  same  general  type,  but  Mis- 
chief immeasurably  superior  in  detail,  the  races  were  very  one-sided  affairs. 

What  proved  of  much  more  importance,  however,  later  in  the  same  season, 
was  the  coming  of  the  narrow  Scotch   cutter   Madge,  of  the  ten-ton  class,  sent 


A.   Cary  Smith. 


Yachting 


371 


out  here  by  her  owner,  Mr.  James  Coats,  of  Paisley,  for  a  trial  with  the  Ameri- 
can sloops.      In  a  series  of  seven  races  against  centreboard  sloops  specially  picked 
to  meet  her — Wave,  Schemer,  Mistral,  and  Shadow — Madge  lost  but  one  race, 
to  the  latter  boat,  a  deep  and  very  able  Boston  cralt.      The  fight  was  now  on  in 
earnest,  and  in  succession  the  cutters  Bed- 
ouin,   Oriva,    Wenonah,    Ileen,   and   some  ^<"vr"^'~^^-i;>.^ 
smaller  ones  were  built,  and  Maggie,  Stran- 
ger, and  others  were   imported  from  Eng- 
land.     At   the   outset   most   of  the  cutters 
were   at   a   disadvantage   in   being  handled 
either    by   amateurs  who  were   unfamiliar 
with  the  new  type,  or  by  English  skippers 
who  were  unused  to  New  York  waters,  but 
as  these   handicaps  disappeared  with   time 
the  cutters  scored  many  victories  over  the 
old  sloops  in  all  classes.      Among  the  ad- 
vocates of  the  new  ideas  were  Robert  Cen- 
ter,   W.    A.   W.    Stewart,    C.    Smith   Lee, 
Archibald  Rogers,  M.  Roosevelt  Schuyler, 
John  Hyslop,  all  members  of  the  Seawan- 
haka  Corinthian   Yacht   Club   and   promi- 
nent  in  yachting.      Feeling   ran    high   be- 
tween   the    two    parties,    and     many    old 

friendships  were   strained  over   the    questions   of  inside   and   outside   ballast    or 
single  or  double  head-rig. 

One  of  the  points  strongly  attacked  by  the  new  school  was  the  cubic-con- 
tents rule  of  the  New  York  Yacht  Club,  under  which  there  was  every  induce- 
ment to  build  a  skimming-dish  of  very  shoal  body  and  low  freeboard.  In  1882 
the  Seawanhaka  Corinthian  Yacht  Club  experimented  with  a  new  form  of  rule, 
based  on  length  and  sail-area,  and  in  the  following  year  the  present  Seawanhaka 
rule,  devised  by  Mr.  John  Hyslop,  was  adopted.  At  the  same  time,  by  a  strong 
effort,  the  New  York  Yacht  Club  was  induced  to  abandon  the  cubic-contents 
rule  and  adopt  the  length  and  sail-area  rule,  though  with  different  factors  from 
the  Seawanhaka  Yacht  Club.  The  Seawanhaka  rule,  adopted  by  one  club  after 
another,  and  finally  by  the  New  York,  proved  satisfactory  at  the  time,  and  its 
good  effects  continued  up  to  about  1891,  when  the  radical  changes  of  design 
made  it  obsolete. 

The  cutter  agitation  and  the  movement  for  improved  rules  brought  the 
larger  clubs,  the  New  York,  Seawanhaka,  Atlantic,  and  Eastern,  into  closer 
communication   early  in   the   eighties,  and  for  several  years   these  clubs  worked 


John    Hyslop. 


372 


Yachting 


together  in  harmony,  and  much  was  accompHshed  for  the  general  good  oi  the 
sport.  In  1880  a  new  ckib  came  into  existence,  at  first  in  a  small  way,  a  num- 
ber of  yachtsmen  who  owned  small  open  yachts  at  Larchmont  Manor,  a  grow- 
ing suburb  of  New  York  on  Long  Island  Sound,  finally  organizing  as  the  natural 
result  of  accidental  companionship.  Some  of  them  proved  to  be  of  the  right 
kind,  not   only  good  sailor   men,  but  business   men   and   managers  as  well  ;   the 

young  organization  started  with  a  large 
capital  of  enthusiasm  and  espnt  dii  corps, 
which  has  increased  constantly  with  the 
drafts  upon  it  for  twenty  years.      Com- 
ing at  the  right  moment,  when  the  ad- 
vance   of  commerce    was    driving    the 
yachts    from    New   York    Bay,  and    in- 
creased facilities  for  transportation  were 
making   the   Sound   shore  more  accessi- 
ble, the  young   club  grew  rapidly,  and 
in  three  or  four  years  was  able  to  make 
good  a  claim  to  recognition  as  an  equal 
with  the   older  clubs.      Its  main  policy 
from    the   first   has   been    to    encourage 
racing  ;  if  any  two  yacht-owners  wished 
to  try  their  boats  they  had   only  to  sail 
to   Larchmont   Harbor,  where   an   alert 
and  energetic  race   committee  and  suit- 
able  prizes   were  always    to   be    found. 
With  times  when  money  was  very  scarce, 
the    club  has  always  been  most  liberal 
in  its  prize  fund  and  also  in  its  expenditures  on  the  club  property,  now  the  most 
complete   establishment   of  the   kind   in   the  world.      The  house,  the  furniture, 
and,  above  all,  the  library,  are   thoroughly  admirable  ;   and  in   its  reputation   as 
the   promoter   and   patron   of  yacht-racing  in   all   classes   the   Larchmont  Yacht 
Club   stands   alone.      Its   annual  week   of  daily   races  and   water-sports,   with   a 
separate  entertainment  every  evening,  is  one  of  the  fixtures  of  the  racing  season 
about  New  York. 

When  the  fifth  challenge  for  the  America  Cup  came  in  1885  the  cutter 
fight  was  at  its  height,  and  the  question  of  Cup  defence  assumed  a  new  and  grave 
importance.  The  stanchest  advocate  of  the  old  sloop  knew  by  this  time  the 
many  weak  points  of  the  type  and  the  dangerous  nature  of  the  cutter,  and  serious 
apprehension  was  felt  as  to  the  result  of  an  international  race  on  very  different 
ground   from   those  of  preceding  years.      To  defend   the  Cup,  the  Commodore 


C.  Smith  Lee. 


Yachting 


373 


and  Vice-Commodore   of  the    New  York    Yacht  Club,  James  Gordon   Bennett 
and  William  P.  Douglas,  ordered  a  new  yacht,  an  improved   Mischief,  designed 
by   Mr.  A.   Cary   Smith.      The  challenger,   Sir   Richard   Sutton's   90-ton   cutter 
Genesta,  designed  by  Mr.  J.  Beavor  Webb,  was  of  81    feet  water-line,  and   the 
new  sloop  Priscilla  was  designed  to  be  four  feet  longer.      The   hull  was  of  steel 
and   the  rig  was   a   compromise   between   the  sloop   and   cutter,  with  a  housing 
topmast  and  double  headsails,  but  with 
the   faulty   proportions   of  the   former. 
During  the  spring  preceding  the  races 
models  and  plans  of  yachts  came  to  the 
New  York  Yacht  Club  from  all  parts 
of  the  country,  but  no  attempt  was  made 
by  the  club   to   provide  more   than  one 
defending  boat. 

At  this  time,  as  for  some  years 
previously,  the  Eastern  Yacht  Club 
boasted  of  a  contingent  of  keen  prac- 
tical yachtsmen,  among  them  General 
Charles  J.  Paine,  Mr.  J.  Malcolm 
Forbes,  and  Dr.  John  Bryant.  While 
always  recognizing  the  pre-eminence  of 
New  York  and  the  New  York  Yacht 
Club  in  many  ways,  these  men  had  a 
pride  of  their  own  in  the  home  club 
and  an  ambition  to  extend  its  fame  be- 
yond local  limits.  One  of  the  party, 
all  of  whom  were  more  or  less  inti- 
mately associated  as  graduates  of  Harvard  and  members  of  Boston  society, 
was  Mr.  Edward  Burgess,  the  son  of  a  wealthy  merchant,  a  devoted  yachts- 
man from  his  boyhood,  but  at  the  same  time  by  inclination  a  student  and  an 
expert  naturalist.  Owing  to  the  failure  of  his  father  in  business,  Mr.  Burgess, 
who  had  travelled  abroad  and  imbibed  some  of  the  dangerous  cutter  heresies, 
in  fact  had  owned  several  small  cutters,  took  up  the  profession  of  yacht-designing 
in  1883.  It  was  perhaps  partly  to  advance  his  interests  that  the  others,  all  per- 
sonal friends,  determined  to  build  a  Boston  yacht  for  the  trial  races,  and  in  the 
winter  of  1884-85  Puritan  was  designed  and  her  construction  begun  at  the  yard 
of  Lawley  &  Son,  South  Boston.  While  the  full  credit  for  the  design  rests  with 
Mr.  Burgess,  it  is  but  fair  to  state  that  the  enterprise  as  a  whole  was  carried 
through  to  a  successful  termination  by  the  earnest  efforts  of  the  entire  party, 
who  worked  together  from   first  to   last.      The  new  yacht,  Puritan,  was  techni- 


Henry  Bryant. 


J> 


374 


Yachting 


cally  a  centreboard  cutter,  a  most  timely  and  judicious  compromise  between  the 
two  types.  She  had  the  general  appearance  of  a  cutter,  with  a  fairly  deep  body 
and  a  lead  keel,  and  the  full  cutter  rig. except  in  such  mechanical  details  as  the 
fixed  bowsprit  and  the  mainsail  laced  to  the  boom.      At   the  same  time  she  was 

much  wider  than  the  cutters  of  the  day,  her 
breadth  being  22  teet  7  inches  as  compared 
with  the  1 5  feet  of  Genesta,  the  lengths 
being  nearly  the  same.  The  construction 
— all  wood — was  both  lighter  and  stronger 
than  that  of  the  old  sloops,  her  sails  were 
very  much  better,  and  in  many  details  she 
showed  a  great  superiority.  What  with  the 
strong  rivalry  between  New  York  and  Bos- 
ton, the  trial  races  between  Puritan  and 
Priscilla,  in  which  by  the  way  the  old  70- 
footers  Gracie  and  Bedouin  essayed  to  take 
part,  were  hardly  less  interesting  than  the 
final  matches  with  Genesta  for  the  Cup,  the 
Boston  boat  proving  the  victor  in  both 
contests. 

The  next  year  the  contest  was  dupli- 
cated, the  challenger  being  the  steel  cutter 
Galatea,  also  designed  by  Mr.  Beavor-Webb, 
and  the  defender  a  new  Burgess  boat,  an 
enlarged  Puritan,  named  Mayflower,  the 
latter  being  successful.  In  1887  a  new 
challenge  came,  from  the  Royal  Clyde  Yacht  Club,  the  yacht,  a  steel  cutter, 
being  designed  by  Mr.  George  L.  Watson  for  a  syndicate  of  the  club  mem- 
bers. After  the  defeat  ot  the  narrow  Galatea  the  old  tonnage  rule  in  vogue 
in  Great  Britain  in  various  forms  from  the  beginning  of  yacht-racing  was 
abandoned  in  favor  of  the  rating  rule,  of  length  and  sail  area,  the  first  large 
yacht  built  under  the  new  rule  being  the  challenger  Thistle,  of  85  feet  water- 
line  and  20  feet  beam,  as  compared  with  the  15  feet  of  Galatea  on  87  feet 
length.  Thistle  was  a  very  handsome  cutter  and  apparently  fast  in  her  home 
races  with  Genesta,  Irex,  and  other  narrow  cutters,  but  not  until  she  was  fairly 
on  the  wind  against  the  new  Cup  defender  Volunteer  was  it  discovered  that, 
through  a  lack  of  sufficient  draft,  she  failed  to  hold  to  windward  with  the  deep 
centreboard  boat.  Volunteer,  designed  by  Mr.  Burgess  and  owned  by  General 
Paine,  was  larger  than  Mayflower  and  built  of  steel,  but  of  the  same  general 
type,  though  deeper.     With  certain  defects  of  their  own,  the  old  narrow  cutters 


E.   D.   Morgan. 


The  New  Club  House  of  the  New  York   'Yacht   Club. 


Yachting 


377 


with  their  flat  sides  would  go  to  windward,  though  heeled  to  a  strong  angle. 
With  her  added  beam,  Thistle  was  given  no  more  dratt  than  Genesta  and  Gala- 
tea, and  to  save  immersed  surface  her  forefoot  was  freely  cut  away  and  all  angles 
about  the  keel  rounded  off.  The  result  was  that,  though  very  fast  through  the 
water,  when  hauled  on  the  wind  she  slid  away 
to  leeward.  With  a  deeper  keel  or  a  centre- 
board she  would  have  proved  a  most  dangerous 
boat,  but  as  it  was  she  failed  entirely. 

The  benefit  to  American  yachting  of  this 
series  of  three  international  matches  can  hardly 
be  overestimated  ;  it  came  at  a  most  opportune 
time  and  it  led  quickly  and  easily  to  a  revolu- 
tion which  would  otherwise  have  been  pro- 
longed and  bitter.  The  three  winning  boats, 
Puritan,  Mayflower,  and  Volunteer,  were  de- 
signed, owned,  and  steered  by  Americans,  Yan- 
kees at  that  ;  and  their  nationality  was  estab- 
lished beyond  question.  At  the  same  time  in 
the  technical  features  of  design  and  construction 
they  justified  all  the  main  points  contended  for 
by  the  cutter  cranks  except  the  narrow  beam 
and  the  keel.  In  rig  they  were  immeasurably 
superior  to  the  old  sloops  and  at  the  same  time 
free  from  some  of  the  complicated  and  obsolete 
details  of  the  British  cutter,  such  as  the  running 
bowsprit  with  its  tackles.     They  established  for 

all  time  the  position  of  the  educated  naval  architect  as  the  arbiter  of  yacht  design, 
relegating  the  builder  to  a  field  of  his  own,  where  he  had  still  ample  room  for 
advance  in  construction.  They  broke  down  the  existing  national  prejudice  against 
all  imported  ideas,  and  made  it  possible  for  a  man  to  own  a  very  good  cutter,  pro- 
vided she  were  not  extremely  narrow,  under  the  misleading  title  of  "  compromise 
sloop."  While  the  first  match  between  Genesta  and  Puritan  aroused  only  the 
interest  of  yachtsmen  and  the  coast  population,  before  the  Thistle-Volunteer 
match  was  sailed  the  names  of  Burgess,  Paine,  Puritan,  Mayflower,  and  Volun- 
teer were  known  in  every  inland  village  and  mining  camp  throughout  the 
country. 

With  the  exception  of  the  retention  of  the  inside  course  of  the  New  York 
Yacht  Club  for  one  race  in  each  series,  the  matches  of  1885,  1886,  and  1887 
were  sailed  under  very  fair  conditions,  and  there  was  every  prospect  of  a  continu- 
ance of  the  Cup   racing  on  the  same  basis.      On  the  evening  after  the  last  race 


W .    Butler   Duncan,   Jr. 


37S 


Yachting 


between  Thistle  and  V^olunteer  the  defeated  party,  the  Royal  Clyde  Yacht  Club, 
sent  at  once  a  notice  of  a  new  challenge  for  1888.  On  the  receipt  of  this 
notice  a  special    meeting  of  the    New   York  Yacht  Club   was    called  and  it   was 

determined  to  change  the  conditions  on 
which  the  Cup  was  held.  This  had  al- 
ready been  done  once  alter  the  Mischief- 
Atalanta  matches  in  1881,  certain  new 
conditions  being  inserted  to  prevent  the 
challenging  by  Canadian  yachts,  but  the 
main  terms  were  little  changed.  All  in- 
convenient questions  were  disposed  of  by 
the  formality  ot  reconveying  the  Cup  to 
Mr.  George  L.  Schuyler,  the  "  surviving 
donor,"  to  use  a  term  coined  at  the  time. 
Little  was  said  about  the  adoption  of  the 
second  deed  of  gift  in  1882,  as  it  did  not 
conflict  seriously  with  the  obvious  inten- 
tions of  the  original  donors  as  expressed 
in  the  first  deed. 

What  is  known  as  the  Third  Deed 
of  Gift  was  drawn  up  by  a  special  com- 
mittee of  the  New  York  Yacht  Club, 
and  was  finally  adopted  for  the  club  by 
this  committee,  never  being  accepted  by 
a  vote  at  an  open  meeting  of  the  club. 
Its  fairness  and  legality  were  openly  attacked  from  the  day  of  its  publication, 
not  only  abroad  but  by  American  yachtsmen  and  the  independent  yachting 
journals.  The  Royal  Yacht  Squadron  and  other  British  clubs  refused  to  rec- 
ognize the  New  Deed  or  to  challenge  under  its  provisions,  and  international 
racing  in  the  large  classes  ceased  for  the  next  seven  years. 

Fortunately  the  keen  interest  in  yachting  awakened  by  these  matches  did 
not  cease  but  was  merely  diverted  into  new  channels;  in  1888,  1889,  and  1890 
the  70-foot  class  led  the  racing  with  the  steel  Titania  and  Katrina  and  the 
wooden  Shamrock.  By  this  time  a  number  of  fixed  classes  with  definite  inter- 
vals between  were  in  nominal  existence  on  the  club-books,  and  there  was  a 
growing  tendency  to  mould  the  fleet  to  them,  old  boats  being  altered  where 
possible  to  measure  into  a  class,  and  new  boats  being  built  just  to  the  limit. 

In  1887  Mr.  Burgess  designed  for  Messrs.  Charles  F.  and  George  C.  Adams, 
two  young  Boston  yachtsmen,  a  keel  cutter.  Papoose,  of  36  feet  water-line,  in 
dimensions  and  model    much    like  the    Itchen   Ferry  length   class  yachts  of  the 


Newbury   D.    Lawton. 


Yachting 


379 


day,  but  superior  in  rig  and  other  details.  The  yacht  was  built  to  no  class  and 
was  used  as  much  for  cruising  as  racing,  but  she  proved  very  fast.  The  same 
year  Mr.  A.  Cary  Smith  designed  a  cruising  yacht  of  40  feet  water-line,  of  the 
deep  centreboard  type,  named  Banshee, 
and  in  her  ordinary  work  about  Long 
Island  Sound  she  attracted  much  the  same 
attention  as  did  Papoose  in  the  Eastern 
waters.  Early  in  1888  Mr.  F.  W.  Flint, 
of  the  Larchmont  Yacht  Club,  built 
Nymph,  a  deep  centreboard  boat  with 
cutter  rig,  designed  by  Mr.  Burgess  tor 
racing  in  the  40-toot  class,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  owners  of  Papoose  replaced 
her  with  a  new  keel  boat,  Babboon,  of 
course  designed  by  Mr.  Burgess,  and  to 
the  limit  ot  40  feet  water-line.  The 
class  was  now  established,  racing  began, 
and  in  1889  were  added  a  big  fleet  of 
keel  and  centreboard  boats,  Liris,  Mari- 
quita.  Tomahawk,  Chiquita,  Ventura,  Ve- 
rena.  Gorilla,  Helen,  Alice,  and  others. 
In  the  tall  of  1888  there  came  across 
from  the  Clyde,  with  Captain  Charles 
Barr  at  the  stick  as  navigator,  a  little 
Fife  cutter  designed  as  a  cruiser  for  Mr. 

Charles  H.  Tweed,  of  New  York  and  Beverly.  She  was  of  heavy  construction 
for  the  ocean  passage,  and  fully  fitted  below  with  panelling  and  turniture  in  her 
two  cabins.  She  made  no  attempts  at  racing  in  1888  or  in  the  spring  ot  1889, 
though  at  the  later  date  she  was  at  Staten  Island  and  in  commission.  One  of 
the  new  boats,  Liris,  was  dismasted  in  her  first  race,  and  her  crew,  thrown  out 
of  the  following  races  of  regatta  week,  borrowed  Minerva,  very  kindly  loaned 
by  Mr.  Tweed.  She  sailed  in  the  Corinthian  race  of  the  Seawanhaka  Corin- 
thian Yacht  Club  on  June  15th  and  scored  such  a  decisive  victory  over  her  class 
that  she  was  no  longer  considered  a  mere  cruiser.  Sailed  to  perfection  by  Cap- 
tain Charles  Barr  and  his  Scotch  crew,  the  little  Fife  cutter,  with  a  sail  area  ot 
but  2,700  square  feet  as  compared  with  those  of  3,300  to  3,600  square  feet  on 
the  American  boats,  proved  invincible,  and  the  cry  went  up,  "  Anything  to  beat 
Minerva."  New  forties,  both  centreboard  and  keel,  were  specially  built  in  1890, 
the  Adams  brothers  sailing  a  new  Burgess  cutter.  Gossoon  ;  with  all  their  skill 
the  season  ended  with  a  record  of  five  races  each   for   Minerva  and   Gossoon  as 


Frederick   T.  Adams 


380 


Yachting 


the  result  of  ten  hard  battles.  Contemporary  with  the  40-foot  class  was  the 
30-foot,  with  such  boats  as  Kathleen,  Saracen,  Mildred,  Rosalind,  Shark, 
Hawk,  and  Fancy.  In  both  of  these  classes  the  same  point  was  demonstrated 
beyond  question,  the  superiority  of  the  keel  type  over  the  centreboard.      While 

the  contrary  conclusion  had  been  accepted 
by  many  after  the  victories  of  the  Burgess 
boats  in  the  Cup  races,  in  none  of  these  was 
the  keel  type  represented  by  yachts  of  ade- 
quate draft,  the  deepest,  Galatea,  drawing  but 
I  3  feet  6  inches  instead  of  the  1 7  or  18  feet 
which  would  have  been  in  proportion  to  her 
length  and  power.  In  the  smaller  keel  boats 
designers  were  free  to  take  draft  in  propor- 
tion to  the  other  dimensions,  some  10  feet  in 
a  40-footer.  The  verdict  of  several  seasons 
with  the  keel  cutter  Clara  in  the  53-foot 
class  opposed  with  unvarying  success  to  the 
centreboards  Cinderella  and  Anaconda  ;  of 
Minerva,  Liris,  and  Gossoon,  all  keel  boats, 
against   Nymph,  Verena,   Chiquita,  and  Ven- 


S.  Nicholson  Kane. 


tura ;   and    of  Kathleen    and    Saracen    against 


Shark  and  Hawk,  was  entirely  in  favor  of 
the  keel  type  as  far  as  speed  was  concerned.  In  this  interesting  struggle  the 
conditions  were  most  even,  as  the  yachts  were  all  new,  of  practically  identical 
construction,  and  produced  by  the  same  designers. 

The  40-foot  class  will  always  remain  as  the  greatest  racing  class  of  the 
period — it  filled  its  purpose  perfectly  ;  but  with  the  fickleness  which  is  but  too 
characteristic  of  yachtsmen  it  was  abandoned  in  1891  for  a  new  class,  the  46- 
foot.  For  this  class  Mr.  Burgess  designed  Mineola,  Sayonara,  Ilderim,  and 
Oweene,  keel  boats,  and  Beatrice  (afterward  Harpoon),  Thelma,  and  Milicete, 
centreboard  ;  Mr.  Will  Fife,  Jr.,  designed  Barbara,  and  Mr.  John  B.  Paine,  the 
son  of  General  Paine,  Alborak. 

While  none  of  these  presented  any  marked  departure  from  their  imme- 
diate predecessors  of  the  40-foot  class,  there  was  one  new  yacht  which  em- 
bodied many  new  features.  This  was  Gloriana,  designed  and  built  by  the 
Herreshoffs  for  Commodore  E.  D.  Morgan,  the  first  sailing  yacht  of  any  im- 
portance built  by  the  firm  in  many  years.  With  a  midship  section  similar  to 
that  of  the  average  keel  yacht  of  the  day,  but  with  more  hollow,  she  had  a  load 
water-line  which  was  very  full  at  both  ends,  and  her  fore  and  aft  lines  were  all 
round  and  full  but  carried  out   to  form  very  long  overhangs,  forward  as  well  as 


Yachting 


381 


aft.      With  a  light  construction  and  an  excellent  sail  plan,  including  many  small 
mechanical  details,  Gloriana  was  two   or    three   years   in  advance  of  the  rest  of 
the  fleet,  a  fact  which  she  demonstrated  in  a  very  practical  manner  by  winning 
nearly  all   the   races   in  which   she   started.      In    the   fall   of  the  same  year  Mr. 
Herreshoff  launched  another  novelty  that  with 
Gloriana  marked  a  most  important  change  in 
yacht   design.      This   was   the    tin-keel    sloop 
Dilemma,   a   canoe-shaped  hull   of  very  little 
depth,   fitted    with   a   deep  plate  of  metal  to 
which  was  hung  a  cigar-shaped   bulb  of  lead. 

The  course  of  yachting  in  the  past  ten 
years  has  hardly  yet  crystallized  into  history, 
and  the  perspective  is  still  too  short  to  admit 
of  a  clear  and  impartial  view  of  a  period 
which  contains  much  of  both  good  and  bad. 
Its  main  characteristic  has  been  the  continued 
development  of  the  leading  principles  of 
Gloriana  and  Dilemma,  the  reduction  of 
displacement  with  the  retention  of  large  di- 
mensions of  breadth  and  draft,  the  evasion  of 
the  measurement  of  the  load  water-line  by 
means  of  excessively  full  and  blunt  water- 
lines,  and  the  cutting  down  of  the  weight  of  construction  to  the  lowest  possible 
limit  which  will  hold  the  yachts  together  for  one  or  two  seasons. 

Though  adopted  at  once  in  the  smaller  classes,  and  successful  up  to  a  limit 
of  5 1  feet  racing  measurement,  the  extreme  fin-keel  type  has  not  proved  suc- 
cessful in  the  90-foot  and  other  large  classes.  At  the  same  time  it  has  had  a 
very  strong  influence  on  designing  in  that  it  has  produced  what  is  best  called  the 
semi-fin  type,  such  as  the  21-foot  race-abouts,  the  middle-sized  yachts  Norota 
and  Syce,  and  even  the  later  Cup  defenders.  Defender  and  Columbia.  All  of 
these  yachts  are  of  exceedingly  beautiful  model,  nominally  retaining  the  old  S 
section,  but  cut  away  to  such  an  extent  both  in  midship  section  and  lateral  plane 
that  they  are  essentially  fin-keels  in  principle  though  nominally  of  the  normal 
type  in  construction,  the  entire  hull  being  one  integral  structure  and  not  separa- 
ble into  a  canoe  and  a  metal  fin.  In  them  the  designer  has  every  opportunity 
to  exercisQ  his  artistic  taste  and  his  sense  of  harmonious  proportions  and  beauti- 
ful form,  and  at  the  same  time  he  has  more  complete  control  than  ever  before 
of  the  speed  factors,  small  displacement,  a  minimum  of  wetted  surface,  exces- 
sive power  through  the  long  lever  formed  by  the  fin  with  its  lead  bulb,  and  a 
large   and  very  effective   sail   plan   intended   solely  for  summer   racing.      While 


Th 


re  C.  Zerega. 


^82  Yachting 

rivalling  in  speed  the  pure  fin-keel,  these  semi-fins  partake  largely  of  their  faults 
and  aflx)rd  only  a  little  more  living  room  except  in  the  very  largest  classes. 
Measured  under  rules  long  obsolete  and  which  fail  to  put  a  fair  price  upon  the 
speed  factors,  these  yachts  are  very  much  faster  than  the  older  and  more  service- 
able ones  of  the  time  of  Minerva,  Pappoose,  and  Gloriana.  That  they  represent 
any  real  advance  in  naval  architecture  or  anything  more  than  an  ultra-refinement 
of  design  and  construction  which  can  produce  no  lasting  good,  is  open  to  grave 
doubt. 

That  the  immediate  results  up  to  the  present  time  have  been  detrimental 
to  the  best  interests  of  the  sport  can  hardly  be  disputed  when  the  modern  rac- 
ing machine  is  analyzed,  with  her  excessive  draft,  limited  internal  room,  great 
cost,  and  fragile  structure  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  wide  range  of  experi- 
ment open  to  designers  has  led  to  many  valuable  discoveries  in  the  matters  of 
form  and  construction.  The  problem  of  the  new  century,  open  to  all  the 
yacht  clubs,  is  to  utilize  through  the  means  of  new  measurement  rules  the  ad- 
vances and  discoveries  which  have  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  fin-keel,  for  the 
production  of  yachts  which,  while  faster  than  anything  known  in  the  past,  will 
at  the  same  time  possess  at  least  in  a  degree  the  seaworthiness,  accommodation, 
durability,  and  general  utility  of  the  yachts  of  1885  to  1890.  Difiicult  as  it 
is,  the  problem  is  not  impossible  of  solution  ;  with  it  successfully  solved  there 
lies  ahead  a  new  era  of  prosperity  for  the  sport  of  yachting. 


STEAM  YACHTING 

THE  IDEAS  OF  A 

DESIGNER 

IRVING  COX 

STEAM  YACHTING  IN 
AMERICA 

W.  p.  STEPHENS 


y.  Pierpont  Morgan. 


STEAM-YACHTING-THE 
IDEAS    OF   A    DESIGNER 

BY    IRVING    cox 


HORTLY  before  the  beginning  of  our  late  war  with  Spain  the 
writer  prepared  a  paper  on  American  Steam-yachts,  which  was 
read  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  American  Society  of  Naval 
Engineers  at  Washington,  and  the  present  article  is  largely  a 
growth  from  that  paper.  Taking  American  steam-yachts  and 
their  present  state  of  development  we  will,  for  the  sake  of  clear- 
ness, divide  them  into  three  classes:  Sea-going  steam-yachts  with  full  steam- 
power,  and  no  sail-power  or  auxiliary  sail-power,  having  large  coal  capacity  and 
moderate  speed.  Secondly,  the  auxiliary  steam-yacht,  designed  and  built  pri- 
marily as  a  sailing  vessel,  with  auxiliary  steam-power  added.  Third,  the  normal, 
full-powered  American  steam-yacht  of  the  coastwise  type.  Taking  these  classes 
in  order,  the  sea-going  type  is  the  most  modern,  and  seems  to  be  gaining  in 
favor  and  in  number,  more  and  more,  year  by  year. 

Ten  years  ago  one  could  enumerate  steam-yachts  built  in  this  country,  tit 
to  go  to  sea,  on  the  fingers  of  one  hand,  while  to-day  the  yacht  lists  show  close 
to  one  hundred  boats  of  this  type. 

American  yachting  has  been,  and  always  will  be,  influenced  by  the  large 
bodies  of  water  landlocked — that  is,  protected  from  the  full  violence  of  the  open 
sea — and  the  thousands  of  miles  of  navigable  thoroughfares  and  rivers  along  our 
southern  coast  from  Norfolk  to  Tampa. 

The  criticism  made  by  men  taking  up  yachting  in  America,  without  con- 
sidering these  natural  conditions,  is  that  our  boats,  when  compared  with  English 
yachts  of  the  same  cost  and  size,  are  not  so  able,  so  strong,  nor  so  comfortable 
as  their  English  rivals.  This  is  due  partly,  as  I  have  said,  to  natural  conditions 
in  America,  which  do  not  demand  seaworthiness  and  strength  to  the  same  de- 
gree as  do  the  waters  of  the  English  Channel,  the  coast  of  Norway  and  Sweden, 
and  the  waters  of  the  Mediterranean,  which  comprise  the  main  English  cruising 
ground.  Added  to  the  natural  conditions  we  have,  however,  a  prejudice  in 
America  in  favor  of  high  speed,  which  is  due,  I  think,  partly  to  the  American 
spirit  of  unrest,  the  desire  to  get  there  as  soon  as  possible,  and  to  outstrip  everyone 
else  while  doing  it,  that  is  so  much  a  part  of  our  American  nature  as  to  need  no 
comment.      There  is  to  be  said,  however,  in   excuse   for  this  fad,  as   it  may  be 


^86  Steam -Yachting  —  the  Ideas  of  a  Designer 

called,  that  our  American  yachtsmen  are  not,  as  a  rule,  men  of  absolute  leisure, 
and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  six,  at  least,  out  of  every  ten  yachts  owned  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  New  York  and  Boston  are  used,  in  the  main,  as  terry-boats  between  their 
owner's  office  and  his  summer  home.  Every  afternoon  during  the  summer  you 
will  see  from  ten  to  a  dozen  steam-yachts  waiting  like  floating  cabs  at  the  foot 
of  the  yacht-landing,  Twenty-sixth  Street,  for  their  owner's  arrival,  and  then 
there  is  a  grand  stampede  up  the  East  River,  with  every  owner  on  the  alert,  and 
every  pound  of  steam  allowed  by  law  on  the  boilers.  This  use,  as  a  daily  con- 
veyance, is  so  totally  different  from  the  conditions  obtaining  in  any  other  part 
of  the  world  that  it  is  not  surprising  to  see  developed  a  distinct  type  of  boat, 
and  it  is  also  not  surprising  that  this  type  should  have,  as  it  does,  its  influence 
on  all  yachts  built  in  America. 

Within  the  last  few  years  we  have  seen  very  plainly  the  error  of  our  ways, 
but  not  until  many  millions  had  been  diverted  from  America  by  Mr.  Watson, 
the  eminent  Scotch  designer  and  naval  architect,  who  can  boast  of  having  spent 
more  money  for  American  yachtsmen  than  any  American  designer.  What  was 
the  reason  for  the  placing  of  all  this  work  abroad  ?  What  is  the  reason  that 
to-day  yachtsmen  prefer  in  the  larger  sizes  English  boats  to  American  ?  Mainly 
it  is  because  the  purchaser  of  an  English  steam-yacht  teels  sure  ot  buying  a 
stanch,  seaworthy,  and  strong  vessel.  This  feeling,  while  it  has  had  its  excuse 
in  the  past,  and  until  very  recently,  in  fact,  no  longer  has  a  shadow  of  excuse 
for  its  existence.  It  the  American  yachtsman  honestly  wants  a  comfortable, 
able,  sea-going  cruiser  he  can  get  it  in  America  just  as  well  as  abroad,  as 
Aphrodite,  Eleanor,  Dreamer,  Genesee,  Aloha,  Marjorie,  Aileen,  etc.,  show. 
The  trouble  is  that  the  American  yachtsman  with  the  speed  bee  buzzing  how- 
ever faintly  in  his  bonnet  most  often  says  to  the  unfortunate  American  de- 
signer: "I  want  a  boat  with  the  accommodation  and  seaworthy  qualities 
of  that  English  boat,  and  the  speed  of  this  American  type."  The  result  is 
sometimes  unfortunately  a  hybrid,  having  the  good  qualities  of  neither  and 
the  bad  qualities  of  both. 

What  I  mean  is  that  American  yachtsmen,  from  the  natural  conditions  of 
the  waters  that  they  do  their  yachting  in,  from  their  inherited  and  national 
tendency  to  hurry,  make  speed  far  too  important  a  factor,  and  thereby  place  the 
American  designer  at  a  great  disadvantage.  It  is  well  known  that  resistance 
and  consequent  cost  of  running  increase  as  the  square  of  the  speed  of  a  boat. 
It  is  also  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  comfort,  seaworthiness,  and  every  quality 
that  goes  to  niake  up  an  able,  stanch  vessel,  decreases  as  about  the  fifth  power 
of  the  speed. 

The  amateur  yachtsman,  however  large  his  pocket-book,  can  never  com- 
pete with   any  chance    of  success  with  the  various    transatlantic  passenger  lines 


Steam -Yachting  —  the  Ideas  of  a  Designer  jSy 

or  the  palatial  and  speedy  Sound  and  River  steamers,  so  abundant  in  this 
country,  and  even  it  he  could  it  would  seem  unwise,  to  say  the  least,  to  invest 
many  thousands  of  dollars  to  gain  a  result  that  anyone  can  obtain  by  the  pur- 
chase of  a  simple  steamship-ticket,  entitling  one  to  a  passage  on  a  fast  boat. 

There  is  some  excuse  for  the  busy  man  of  affairs  who  has  to  be  at  his 
office  by  nine  or  ten  daily,  in  the  building  and  running  of  private,  high-speed 
ferries.  For  men  of  abundant  leisure  and  large  means  it  is  ridiculous  to  con- 
sider speed  an  essential  feature.  However  fast  you  build  your  steam-yacht  the 
torpedo-boat  destroyer  and  torpedo-boat  pass  you  easily  under  all  conditions. 
Too  much  cannot  be  said,  and  too  much  importance  cannot  be  given,  to  the 
great  handicap  under  which  the  American  designer  labors.  It  is  perfectly  safe 
to  say  to-day  that  we  have  men  as  capable  of  designing  Varunas,  Mayflowers, 
and  Marguerites  as  any  foreign  designer.  Owing  to  the  above  handicap, 
however,  our  wealthy  American  citizen  no  sooner  decides  to  have  built  some- 
thing particularly  fine  and  expensive  than  he  deserts  his  American  designer,  to 
whom  the  work,  rightfully  belongs,  because  he,  and  others  like  him,  have 
developed  a  type  of  boat  called  American,  which  is  undesirable  in  itself,  and 
thereby  doubles  the  wrong  occasioned  by  his  undesirable  speed  requirements. 
However,  now  and  again  a  man  is  found  with  sufficient  faith  to  intrust  the 
building  of  a  decent  boat  to  the  American  designer,  and  I  believe  that  time  will 
correct  this  injustice,  although  what  has  been  done  cannot  be  remedied. 

Taking  the  auxiliary  type  we  come  to  a  very  much  more  restricted,  smaller 
field.  Auxiliaries  should  belong,  and  generally  do  belong,  to  men  of  large 
wealth,  no  occupation,  together  with  a  great  and  enduring  love  for  the  sea,  and 
the  turning  even  in  a  small  degree  of  the  American  yachting  public  toward  this 
class  of  vessel  is  a  most  hopeful  sign,  as  it  points  to  a  dropping  of  the  speed  and 
unrest  idea.  Six  or  eight  years  ago  every  auxiliary  then  built  could  have  been 
bought  for  much  less  than  their  owners  would  part  with  them  for  to-day. 
Furthermore,  there  is  a  demand  for  boats  of  this  type  that  is  steadily  and  rapidly 
increasing.  They  are  for  people  wishing  to  make  voyages  rather  than  daily 
runs,  and  for  sea-going  rather  than  Sound  and  River  work,  as  their  greater  sail- 
plan  necessitates  a  larger  and  more  expensive  crew  than  the  full-powered  steam- 
yacht  of  the  same  size.  In  England  they  have  long  been  popular,  and  they 
seem  to  have  come  to  stay  in  America  at  last.  Taken  in  connection  with  them 
we  have  what  I  should  call  an  American  auxiliary,  namely,  the  sailing  yacht 
pure  and  simple,  fitted  with  some  type  of  the  gasolene  or  explosive  engine. 
These  boats  are  of  recent  development,  and  seem  to  have  a  large  field  for  the 
future.  They  are  used,  as  a  rule,  by  the  class  of  people  to  whom  there  is 
nothing  more  dreadful  than  a  calm,  and  who  only  use  the  motor  on  such  occa- 
sions, or  in   getting   in   and   out  of  narrow   harbors.      With  the  improvement  in 


^88  Steam -Yachting  —  the  Ideas  of  a  Designer 

reliability  of  the  explosive  engine  these  boats  have  been  made  practical,  and 
setting  aside  a  slight  increase  in  lirst  cost,  are  no  more  expensive  to  run  than 
the  sailing  yacht  pure  and  simple. 

Illustrating  the  radical  difference  between  the  types  of  steam-yachts  men- 
tioned, namely,  the  high-speed,  light  displacement,  and  the  moderate-speed, 
heavy  displacement  boat,  two  diagrams  have  been  prepared,  showing  the  water- 
lines,  deck-plan,  and  sections  superimposed  one  on  the  other,  the  black  line 
being  the  twelve-knot  boat,  and  the  red  line  the  sixteen-knot  boat  of  the  same 
apparent  size — that  is,  the  same  water-line  length.  Comparing  these  two  we 
tind  nearly  double  the  space  for  accommodation,  double  the  space  for  coal,  and 
about  the  same  initial  cost,  these  diagrams  being  from  two  steam-yachts 
designed  by  my  firm,  and  both  fairly  representative  of  their  kind. 

It  can  be  readily  seen  that  in  all  essentials,  except  the  one  of  speed,  the 
twelve-knot  boat  has  an  immense  advantage  over  the  sixteen-knot.  Comparing 
the  room  under  the  joiner-deck,  for  instance,  there  is  six  times  the  space  for 
storage  of  provisions,  ice-machines,  water-tanks,  etc.  The  head-room  can  be 
seven  feet  in  the  one,  as  against  six  in  the  other.  Both  boats,  of  course,  if  well 
designed,  will  live  at  sea  in  extreme  conditions,  but  while  one  is  a  little  ship, 
able  to  steam  low  and  fight  her  way  through  even  severe  storms,  the  other  has 
to  be  handled  with  the  greatest  care. 

As  an  instance  of  this,  I  left  Norfolk  a  number  of  years  ago,  on  a  trip  to 
Nassau,  some  hours  after  a  light  displacement  steam-yacht  of  the  same  size  had 
sailed  for  the  same  port,  being  myselt  in  what  I  would  call  a  sensible,  slower 
type  boat.  We  went  through  a  fairly  severe  storm,  steaming  at  a  rate  of  eight 
to  nine  knots,  and  ten  hours  out  passed  the  other  boat  hove  to.  She  was  forced 
to  put  back  for  fresh  water  and  coal  after  the  storm  subsided,  and  did  not  arrive 
at  Nassau  until  four  days  later.  This  is  simply  given  as  an  illustration  to  show 
the  advantage  of  a  sea-going  boat  for  sea-going  work,  and  the  disadvantages  of 
speed  where  it  cannot  be  used.  Had  we  been  running  from  Ardsley-on-the- 
Hudson  to  the  Battery,  the  conditions  would  have  been  reversed,  and  the  owner 
of  the  light  displacement  boat  would  have  had  the  proud  satisfaction  of  showing 
us  his  vessel's  stern  in  short  order. 

The  conclusion  that  I  have  arrived  at  is  as  follows:  For  all  ordinary  work 
on  our  coast,  sounds,  and  rivers,  it  is  best  to  build,  or  to  buy,  not  as  fast  a  boat, 
but  as  slow  a  boat  as  would  possibly  in  any  way  meet  the  conditions.  It  is 
unwise,  in  fact,  foolish,  to  build  for  extreme  speed  between  i  oo  feet  water- 
line  and,  say,  about  200  to  250.  Between  50  and  100  feet  for  practically 
what  I  call  ferry  service,  a  type  of  high-speed,  fairly  seaworthy  launch  or 
despatch-boat  can  be  used,  easy  to  drive,  economical  in  coal,  carrying  but  few 
men,  and  with   a  small  first  cost.      From    100  feet  water-line,  taken   arbitrarily 


WHAT  SPEED  MEANS 


Black  line  indicates  comfort. — Red  line  indicates  s^ 


Area  of  available  floor  space black  line i)300  square  feet 

Area  of  available  floor  space red  line 900  square  feet 

Head  room black  line 7  feet  6  inches 

Head  room red  line 6  feet  6  inches 

Relative  areas  of  immersed 

Midship  section black  line 131  square  feet 

Midship  section red  line 43  square  feet 

Cost  of  each,  approximately $70,000  to  $90,000 

Length  ot  each,  extreme 175  feet 

Apparent  size  the  same. 

Actual  size black  line    3  50  tons 

Actual  size red  line 1 80  tons 

Horse-power .  ,       black  line 600 

Horse-power red  line i  ,000 

Speed black  line i  a  knots 

Speed red  line 18  knots 

Coal  capacity black  line 75  tons 

Coal  capacity red  line 40  tons 

Steaming  radius,  full  speed black  line i)750  miles 

Steaming  radius,  full  speed red  Hne 800  miles 

Cost  of  running  at  full  speed  for  24 

hours black  line $82 

Cost  of  running  at  full  speed  for  24 

hours red  hne 146 

Summary. — Setting  aside  the  one  question  of  speed,  the  slow  boat 
has  double  the  room,  more  than  double  the  steaming  radius  ;  four 
times  the  storage  capacity,  room  for  ice-machine,  cold-storage,  etc.; 
costs  no  more  to  build,  and  costs  less  to  run. 


j^6»  Steam -Yachting — the  Ideas  of  a  Designer 

as  a  dividing  line,  up  to  200,  the  investment  is  too  large  in  money  to  sacrifice 
everything  to  speed,  and  speeds  ot  sixteen,  seventeen,  and  eighteen  knots  should 
not  be  thought  of,  although  they  can  be  attained.  When  we  come  to  200  or 
250  feet  water-line,  the  very  length  and  size  of  the  boat  itself  makes  it  possible 
to  obtain  high  speed,  good  displacement,  and  accommodation.  Taking  the 
Corsair  as  an  example  of  this  class,  it  can  be  seen  that  with  a  heavy  dis- 
placement and  good  accommodation  she  is  driven  at  the  high  rate  of  nineteen 
knots,  to  attain  which  result  in  a  boat  50  to  100  feet  shorter  would  mean  the 
sacrifice  of  almost  every  other  desirable  quality. 

There  is  another  point  to  be  considered.  Where  speed  is  the  object  aimed 
at,  the  designer  has  only  to  consider  the  scantling,  the  sizes  oi  the  different  parts 
that  go  to  make  up  the  vessel,  from  the  stand-point  of  stiff'ness,  under  all  condi- 
tions of  weather,  assuming  no  deterioration  due  to  corrosion  or  age;  in  other 
words,  he  builds  her  to  be  strong,  new,  and  does  not  care  whether  she  lasts  ten 
years  or  twenty.  While  this  is  perfectly  admissible  in  a  government  torpedo- 
boat,  or  a  light  displacement  cruiser,  it  is  extremely  inadvisable  in  any  type  of 
pleasure  yacht  not  regularly  inspected  and  cared  for.  There  is  a  steam-yacht  in 
our  waters  to-day,  strong  and  seaworthy,  that  was  built  ot  iron  thirty  odd  years 
ago,  and  there  is  no  reason  why,  if  we  build  strong  and  sensible  yachts,  our 
boats  should  not  last  the  same  length  of  time,  with  decent  treatment.  The 
difference  is,  where  simply  the  stresses  and  strains  are  considered,  a  small  amount 
of  corrosion  and  pitting  of  the  metal  will  render  the  boat  undesirable  as  a 
purchase.  If  she  has  been  built  far  in  excess  of  the  structural  requirements,  or 
as  Lloyd's  rules  require,  pitting  can  be  considered  as  simply  roughening  her  bot- 
tom somewhat,  as  something  to  be  guarded  against  lest  it  go  further,  but  as  in 
no  way  impairing  her  sea-going  qualities. 

I  have  not  attempted  to  go  technically  into  any  questions,  as  this  is  not  an 
article  for  the  profession,  but  is  simply  an  attempt  to  lay  before  the  yachting 
public  some  disadvantages  under  which  the  American  designer  labors,  and  to 
point  out  the  remedy.  Do  not  ask  for  speed;  your  designer  will  be  quite  ready 
to  give  you  as  much  or  more  than  you  should  have.  Instead  of  putting  a  limit 
of  speed  below  which  he  shall  not  fall,  demand  of  him  that  he  shall  not  go 
beyond  the  normal  rate  of  the  type  of  boat  you  are  contemplating  building  ; 
that  one  condition  will  bring  about  all  the  result  desired. 


^-imxA  ^— ^ 


STEAM-YACHTING  IN  AMERICA 

BY    W.    P.    STEPHENS 


HE  battle  of  sail  and  steam,  which  has  waged  for  nearly  a  century 
in  yachting,  as  in  the  navy  and  the  commercial  marine,  long 
since  reached  a  point  where  the  adherents  of  the  new  power 
could  afford  to  regard  the  result  with  equanimity.  It  is  no 
longer  a  question  of  which  has  and  will  forever  retain  the 
supremacy,  but  merely  of  the  extent  to  which  sail  can  still  hold 
its  own  in  certain  branches  of  yachting.  It  is  only  necessary  to  look  over  a  list 
of  the  steam-yacht  owners  of  to-day,  in  the  New  York  Yacht  Club  book  for 
instance,  and  to  note  those  such  as  James  Gordon  Bennett,  Lloyd  Phcenix, 
Rutherfurd  Stuyvesant,  E.  D.  Morgan,  W.  P.  Douglas,  Pierre  Lorillard,  John 
E.  Brooks,  and  ].  Roger  Maxwell,  all  old  racing  men  who  have  gone  into 
steam ;  and  the  other  long  list  of  the  Drexels,  Goulds,  Vanderbilts,  and  other 
owners  of  the  great  steam-yachts,  who  are  yachtsmen  simply  for  the  sake  of 
steam,  to  realize  the  great  change  that  has  taken  place  within  the  past  twenty- 
five  years.  Not  only  is  this  defection  permanent,  and  growing  each  year,  but 
the  medium  size  of  steam-yacht  has  attracted  a  large  class  ot  men  of  moderate 
means,  who,  without  any  previous  connection  with  yachting,  have  taken  up  the 
sport  in  this  way  as  their  means  and  opportunities  for  recreation  have  increased. 
In  the  40-foot  and  larger  classes  it  has  been  a  common  thing,  ot  late  years,  for 
men  to  race  for  a  few  seasons  and  then,  whether  successful  or  otherwise,  to 
purchase  a  steam-yacht,  perhaps  owning  at  the  same  time  a  small  class-boat 
solely  for  racing.  The  difficulty  of  using  steam  in  a  yacht  of  under  50  to  60 
feet  has  tended  thus  far  to  keep  up  the  sailing  fleet  of  both  racers  and  cruisers 
of  under  30  feet  water-line,  but  the  great  improvements  recently  made  in  the 
line  of  gasoline  and  similar  motors  have  even  now  made  it  easily  possible  to  fit 
a  motor  completely  out  of  sight  in  the  run  of  a  catboat  or  knockabout  designed 
and  rigged  solely  for  sailing,  by  the  aid  of  which  the  cruiser  is  made  master  ot 
his  own  time,  and  independent  of  the  vagaries  of  the  wind.  While  all  the 
appliances  of  science  are  enlisted  by  the  steam-yachtsman  to  improve  the  power 
craft,  from  the  smallest  cruising  launch  or  auxiliary  knockabout  up  to  the 
modern  floating  palace  such  as  the  Margarita  and  the  Lysistrata,  the  adhe- 
rents of  the  sailing-yacht,  both  individuals  and  clubs,  are  viewing  with  calm 
indifference  the  growing  cost  and  lessening  usefulness  of  racing-yachts  in  all 
classes,  from  the  15-footer  up  to  the  90-footer,  the  death  of  one  ephemeral 
class  after  another  through  over-development  of  speed  features,  and    the   tailure 


39^ 


Steam -Yachting  in  America 


of  races  in  spite  of  liberal  prize-lists.  There  is,  it  is  true,  little  fear  of  the  utter 
extinction  of  the  sail  in  yachting  ;  there  will  always  be  some  whose  love  of 
adventure  and  excitement,  as  well  as  of  the  uncertainty  of  sailing,  will  keep  alive 
the  sport  of  yacht-racing,  but  the  conditions  existing  at  the  present  time  are 
such  as  to  favor  the  steam  fleet  at  the  expense  of  the  sailing  fleet.  The  racing- 
yacht  of  to-day  is  necessarily  a  machine,  of  extreme  form  and  very  light  con- 
struction, with  little  or  nothing  below  in  the 
way  of  comfortable  accommodation  for  the 
owner.  The  first  cost  is  excessive ;  after,  per- 
haps, her  second  season  she  is  made  obsolete, 
so  far  as  winning  prizes  is  concerned,  by 
newer  boats  ot  still  more  extreme  form  and 
lighter  construction,  and  when  this  stage  is 
reached  she  is  not  available  as  were  the  old 
boats  for  long  years  of  useful  service  as  a 
cruiser.  Under  these  conditions  even  the 
keenest  racing-men  hesitate  to  build  racing- 
yachts  in  other  than  the  smaller  classes,  and 
either  abandon  yachting  or  take  to  the  steam- 
yacht.  In  defiiult  of  some  remedial  legisla- 
tion which  will  not  necessarily  limit  the  cost 
of  a  racing-yacht,  but  will  produce  a  craft 
which  is  stanch,  durable,  and  of  reasonable 
accommodation,  thus  giving  an  owner  a  bet- 
ter and  more  lasting  return  for  his  money,  the  racing  of  large  yachts  is  likely  to 
be  limited  to  syndicate  craft  constructed  for  such  special  events  as  the  America 
Cup,  and  to  one-design  classes  such  as  the  new  70-footers. 

As  for  cruising,  even  where  men  do  not  go  in  for  steam  alone,  or  for  a 
steam-yacht  with  auxiliary  sail  power,  the  cruising-yacht  of  the  future  promises 
to  be  a  carefully  designed  schooner,  yawl,  or  cutter,  with  all  external  semblance 
of  a  sailing-yacht,  but  with  such  power  as  will  drive  her  at  a  moderate  speed  in 
a  calm  or  even  a  head  wind. 

In  view  ot  the  many  achievements  of  modern  yachtsmen  as  amateur  de- 
signers, navigators,  engineers,  and  racing  skippers,  it  would  be  absurd  to  claim 
that  they  are  inferior  to  their  predecessors  of  the  infant  days  of  the  sport,  but 
at  the  same  time  there  is  a  very  great  difference,  due  to  modern  conditions, 
between  the  old  and  new  schools.  While  certain  parts  of  the  yachtsman's 
craft — the  successful  handling  of  wheel  or  tiller  in  racing,  the  knowledge  of  the 
weather  and  the  waters,  and  the  ability  to  tune  up  a  boat  to  racing  form — is  in- 
tuitive or  inherited,  and  only  developed  by  practice  in  boyhood,  there  are  many 


William  Astor. 


Steam  -  Yachting  in  America 


393 


good  yachtsmen  who  can  boast  of  but  a  few  years  of  experience,  and  yet  by 
reason  of  their  intelligence  and  enthusiasm,  and  the  facilities  now  accessible  for 
obtaining  both  theoretical  and  practical  knowledge,  are  fully  competent  to 
own  a  large  yacht  with  credit  to  themselves  and  their  clubs,  and  to  take  part  in 
all  branches  of  yachting  work.  It  is  no  unusual  thing  for  a  man  who  has  taken 
to  yachting  even  at  middle  age  to  qualify  himself  to  command  and  navigate 
his  own  yacht,  and  to  pass  creditably  all  the 
Government  examinations.  Competent  as  such 
may  be,  they  belong  to  another  school  from 
the  yachtsman  of  the  early  days,  when  there 
was  no  such  royal  road  to  a  nautical  educa- 
tion as  the  purchase  at  an  agency  of  a  yacht 
ready  for  commission,  and  the  engaging  of  a 
professor  from  a  nautical  college  for  instruc- 
tion in  navigation,  and  the  hiring  of  a  com- 
petent skipper  to  teach  practical  handling  on 
board  one's  vessel.  When  a  man  owned  a 
yacht  in  the  early  part  of  the  present  century, 
it  was  not  merely  because  it  was  fashionable 
or  particularly  easy  for  him  to  do  so,  but  be- 
cause he  was  a  sailor,  heart  and  soul,  and 
ready  to  brave  any  danger  or  trouble  in  pur- 
suit of  a  sea-life.  The  yachtsman  of  the  old 
school,  with  his  square  yards,  his  carronades 

gleaming  through  the  bulwarks,  his  cutlasses,  his  cat-o'-nine-tails,  his  uniform, 
and  his  ceremonials,  was  made  of  the  same  stuff  as  his  mates  of  the  Royal  Navy 
and  the  merchant  marine;  as  set  as  they  were  against  all  inventions  and  innova- 
tions ;  and,  above  all  things,  bitterly  opposed  to  the  introduction  of  steam  as  a 
means  of  propulsion.  From  his  breeding,  his  education,  and  his  associations,  it 
was  as  much  a  matter  of  course  that  he  should  be  thus  prejudiced  as  it  is  that  his 
successor  of  to-day  should  be  broad-minded,  liberal,  and  progressive,  and  ready 
to  adopt  everything  which  can  contribute  to  his  comfort  or  pleasure,  without 
regard  to  conventionality  or  tradition. 

Bearing  in  mind  the  time-honored  reputation  of  all  old  seamen  as  opposed 
to  everything  savoring  of  change,  we  can  afford  to  smile  leniently  upon  the 
august  members  of  the  Royal  Yacht  Club,  now  the  Squadron,  who  in  1827 
placed  upon  the  minutes  the  following  resolution:  "The  object  of  the  Club  is 
to  promote  seamanship,  to  which  the  application  of  steam  is  inimical ;  and  any 
member  applying  steam-engines  to  his  yacht  shall  be  disqualified  thereby,  and 
shall  cease  to  be  a  member."      The   occasion  of  tii's  comprehensive  fulmination 


E.  S.  Jaffray. 


394- 


Steam  -  Yachting  in  America 


was  the  determination  of  Mr.  Thomas  Assheton  Smith  to  lit  out  a  yacht  with 
engines,  and  so  far  was  the  matter  carried  that  on  the  further  insinuation  that 
he  was  animated  by  commercial  motives  he  withdrew  from  the  club.  It  would 
be  hard  at  this  time  to  form  a  correct  estimate  of  the  work  done  for  yachting 
by  this  gentleman.  To  him,  in  his  cutter  Menai,  is  attributed  one  of  the  earliest 
experiments  in  a  hollow  bow,  and  he  was  an  earnest  student  of  all  that  pertained 

to  yachting  under  sail  or  steam.  It  may 
be  noted  in  passing  that  not  until  1856 
did  the  Royal  Yacht  Squadron  abolish 
the  ban  thus  placed  on  steam. 

The  experiments  of  John  Stevens 
with  twin  screws  in  a  small  launch  in 
1804,  on  the  Hudson  River,  are  hardly 
a  part  of  yachting  history,  and,  though 
deeply  interested  in  marine  engineering 
and  screw  propulsion,  his  three  sons  seem 
to  have  confined  themselves  solely  to  sail 
in  yachting.  As  long  ago  as  1837  Mr. 
Charles  Haswell,  the  eminent  engineer, 
now  living  in  New  York,  fitted  a  steam 
boiler  and  engine  into  a  launch  at  the 
Brooklyn  Navy  Yard,  and  made  a  trial 
trip  on  the  East  River,  the  first  record  of  a  steam-launch  in  this  country. 
The  first  American  steam-yacht  was  the  Firefly,  built  and  owned  by  William 
H.  Aspinwall,  President  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company,  in  1854. 
The  building  of  this  yacht  seems  to  have  been,  in  a  measure,  accidental ;  accord- 
ing to  report  she  was  built  to  test  a  paddle-wheel  invented  by  a  Frenchman, 
the  wheel  working  in  an  air-tight  iron  box  in  the  middle  of  the  vessel.  As 
the  experiment  was  not  a  success,  Mr.  Aspinwall  fitted  the  hull  with  oscillating 
engines  and  feathering  paddle-wheels,  and  used  her  as  a  yacht  for  some  years, 
before  selling  her  to  the  United  States  Government  for  use  in  the  Coast  Survey. 
She  was  built  by  Smith  &  Dimon,  New  York,  and  was  97  feet  8  inches  over 
all,  19  feet  breadth,  5  feet  2  inches  depth  of  hold,  and  3  feet  9  inches 
draught;  her  engines  being  20  by  36  inches,  and  her  wheels  8  feet  8  inches 
diameter,  with  paddles  17  by  45  inches.      She  had  a  locomotive  boiler. 

The  Firefly  was  in  every  sense  a  steam-yacht,  used  by  her  owner  for  cruis- 
ing, and  also,  after  the  fashion  of  the  present  day,  as  a  private  conveyance  be- 
tween his  home  on  Staten  Island  and  his  business  in  New  York.  Antedating 
her  by  a  year  is  a  much  larger  vessel  that  may  nominally  be  classed  as  a  yacht, 
and  yet  plays  a  very  unimportant   part  in  the  history  of  steam-yachting.      The 


James  Gordon  Bennett. 


Steam -Yachting  in  America  J  ^5 

North  Star  was  a  side-wheel  vessel  of  2,000  tons,  of  the  type  of  the  ocean 
passenger  steamer  of  the  day,  built  in  1852  for  Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  then  a 
large  steamship  owner.  Specially  fitted  for  the  voyage,  she  sailed  from  New 
York  in  May,  1853,  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vanderbilt  and  a  party  of  relatives  and 
friends  on  board,  twenty-five  in  all,  returning  in  September  after  visiting  the 
Baltic,  the  Mediterranean,  and  other  European  waters.  After  this  service  she 
was  used  as  a  passenger  vessel   for   many 

years,  and  she  only  hgures  as  a  yacht  by  w..^^...,-■.■w.       .i.?«., 

virtue  of  this  elaborate  and  then  un- 
usual private  excursion ;  her  construc- 
tion and  cruise  had  no  effect  whatever 
on  the  development  of  the  steam-yacht. 

The  Rev.  John  A.  Aspinwall,  son 
of  the  owner  ot  the  Firefly,  has  been, 
from  his  boyhood,  an  amateur  engineer, 
and  has  owned  a  large  number  of  steam- 
launches  and  yachts  ot  increasing  size, 
up  to  Sentinel  of  108  feet  water-line, 
built  in  1883.  While  making  many 
experiments  in  the  early  days,  neither 
this    yacht    nor    a    later    one,    Satellite,  A.  J.  Drexel. 

1887,  was  in  any  way  remarkable  among 

others  of  the  same  era.  In  1864  a  steam-yacht  named  Clarita  was  built  for 
Leonard  W.  Jerome  by  Lawrence  &  Foulks,  of  Williamsburg,  of  125  teet  over 
all,  121  feet  9  inches  water-line,  22  feet  breadth,  9  feet  depth,  11  feet  6 
inches  draught,  and  231  tons;  with  engines  by  the  Novelty  Iron  Works,  two 
cylinders  22  by  22  inches,  a  propeller  with  screw  9  feet  6  inches  diameter. 
In  the  same  year  a  steam-yacht.  Wave,  was  built  by  Reanie  &  Neafie  in 
Philadelphia  from  a  model  by  R.  F.  Loper,  of  Stonington,  Conn.  She  was  87 
feet  length,  1 9  feet  6  inches  breadth,  7  feet  depth  of  hold,  and  5  feet  draught, 
with  high-pressure  engines,  two  cylinders  i  2  by  18  inches,  and  a  propeller.  A 
steam-yacht  of  the  same  name,  of  100  tons,  but  with  no  other  particulars  given, 
appears  as  the  only  vessel  in  the  "  List  of  Steamers  belonging  to  the  New  York 
Yacht  Club"  in  the  Club-book  of  1866. 

In  1868  Mr.  Jacob  Lorillard  built  his  first  steam-yacht,  the  Firefly,  a 
wooden  propeller,  67  feet  over  all,  62  feet  water-line,  13  feet  breadth,  5  feet 
draught.  From  this  time  on  for  many  years  he  continued  to  build  one  or  two 
yachts  each  year,  using  them  himself  for  a  time  and  then  selling  them ;  they 
were  nearly  all  of  the  trunk  cabin  type,  the  long  list  including  such  well-known 
boats  as  Skylark,  Lurline,  Promise,  Rival,  Vision,  Venture,  Puzzle,  and  Veto. 


39^ 


Steam  -  Yachting  in  America 


In  1 871  Mr  W.  H.  Aspinwall  built  at  the  Continental  Iron  Works, 
Brooklyn,  a  composite  yacht.  Day  Dream,  1  15  feet  over  all,  109  feet  water-line, 
I  9  feet  breadth,  6  feet  depth  ot  hold,  7  feet  draught ;  with  engines  built  by  the 
Delamater  Iron  Works,  vertical  condensing,  two  cylinders  14  by  14  inches,  with 
screw   7   feet   6   inches   diameter.      These   early  boats  were  largely  of  one  type, 

designed  mainly  by  the  builders  of  the 
sailing-yachts ;  they  had  the  same  arrange- 
ment of  long  trunk  cabin,  cutting  the  deck 
up  into  two  very  narrow  strips,  and  leav- 
ing the  greater  part  ot  the  hull  weakened 
by  the  absence  of  deck-beams.  This  style 
of  cabin  was  then  popular  on  all  yachts,  as 
o-ivino;  better  light  and  ventilation  than  a 
flush  deck  ;  and  for  the  usual  service,  about 
the  Hudson  River  and  Long  Island  Sound, 
it  was  fairly  safe.  It  may  be  said  of  these 
boats  that  the  engineering  represented  the 
current  practice  of  the  day  in  commercial 
work,  and  no  great  improvements  were 
made  in  either  engines  or  boilers ;  in  fact, 
the  model,  construction,  and  machinery 
were  mere  adaptations  of  current  practice 
to  the  production  of  a  steam-yacht. 

In  1873  the  Ideal  was  built  for 
Messrs.Theodore  A.  Havemeyer  and  Hugo 
Fritsch,  by  J.  B.  Van  Deusen,  at  Williams- 
burg, being  130  feet  over  all,  iio  feet  water-line,  20  feet  2  inches  breadth, 
and  6  feet  draught.  In  the  same  year  the  America  was  designed  and  built  for 
Henry  N.  Smith,  by  Henry  Steers,  at  Greenpoint;  being  189  feet  over  all,  183 
feet  6  inches  water-line,  27  feet  breadth,  and  i  2  feet  draught,  with  two  cyl- 
inders 33  by  33  inches,  tonnage  730. 

In  1875  the  Ocean  Gem  was  modelled  and  built  for  R.  E.  Ricker,  by 
William  Force,  of  Keyport,  N.  J.,  a  local  builder  of  sailing-yachts  and  lishing- 
sloops.  In  1879  the  Vedette  was  designed  and  built  for  Mr.  Phillips  Phcenix, 
by  Ward  &  Stanton,  Newburg,  N.  Y.,  of  123  feet  over  all,  104  feet  water- 
line,  and  1 8  feet  6  inches  breadth  ;  and  in  the  following  year  the  same  firm 
began  the  construction  of  a  sea-going  steam-yacht  for  Dion  Boucicault,  the 
actor,  to  be  named  Shaughraun  ;  before  she  was  completed  she  w^as  purchased 
from  Mr.  Boucicault  by  Mr.  Henri  Say,  a  French  yachtsman,  nephew  of  the 
renowned  statesman  Leon  Say,  then  Minister  of  Finance  of  the  French  Republic. 


Thomas   W.  Lai 


Steam  -  Yachting  in  America 


397 


Mr.  Say  came  to  this  country  with  a  small  cruising  steam-yacht,  La  Follette, 
designed  and  built  by  Laird  Brothers,  Birkenhead,  England,  in  1870;  and 
when  he  started  with  his  family  on  board  the  Henriette,  as  he  renamed  the  new 
yacht,  the  old  one  accompanied  her  as  a  tender.  His  first  idea  was  to  cruise 
around  the  world,  but  the  Henriette  proved  unsuitable,  and  after  some  cruising 
at  sea  he  returned  to  the  United  States  and 
ordered  a  new  and  larger  yacht  of  the 
firm  of  Malster  &  Reanie,  in  Baltimore. 
This  yacht.  La  Bretagne,  launched  in  1881, 
was  ot  wood,  240  teet  over  all,  210  feet 
water-line,  32  feet  6  inches  breadth,  19 
feet  depth  of  hold,  and  14  feet  draught. 
Her  compound  engines  had  cylinders  28 
and  50  inches  by  33  inches,  with  two  re- 
turn tubular  boilers  12  feet  long,  10  feet 
6  inches  wide,  and  1 3  feet  high.  The 
wheel  was  i  3  teet  in  diameter.  The  yacht 
was  bark-rigged.  Alter  using  her  for  sev- 
eral years  for  cruising,  her  owner  gave  her 
as  a  training-ship  for  boys.  Her  connec- 
tion with  American  yachting  ended  when 
she  sailed  from  Baltimore  on  her  first 
cruise.  The  little  Follette  was  sold  to  the 
West  Indies  and  finally  purchased  by  an 
American  yachtsman,  being  still  in  com- 
mission   under    her    original    name    of 

Nooya.  She  is  the  first  British  steam  -  yacht  naturalized  in  America. 
About  1876  the  HerreshofFs  took  up  the  building  of  small  steam-launches, 
and  since  that  time  they  have  made  a  specialty  of  launch,  steam-yacht,  and  tor- 
pedo-boat building,  for  some  years  (1875  to  1891),  to  the  exclusion  of  sailing- 
yachts.  Their  work,  more  than  that  of  any  other  builder,  has  shown  a  regular 
and  systematic  course  of  improvement  in  model,  construction,  and  in  particular 
in  the  engineering  departments.  In  the  various  sizes  and  classes,  from  the  small- 
est launches  up  to  the  coasting  steam-yacht  of  about  100  feet  water-line,  they 
have  turned  out  many  boats  that  were  remarkable  in  their  day  for  their  high 
speed,  and  many  excellent  examples  of  the  flush-decked  cruising  type;  thus  far 
they  have  never  built  the  larger  class  of  off-shore  and  ocean  cruising  yachts.  Their 
work  in  both  engines  and  boilers  was  for  many  years  far  in  advance  of  the  general 
practice,  and  they  have  always  been  noted  for  the  lightness  of  their  wooden  and 
semi-composite  hulls. 


Eugene  Tompki. 


39^ 


Steam  -  Yachting  in  America 


In  1880  two  very  important  additions  were  made  to  the  fleet,  both  from 
the  yard  of  William  Cramp  &  Sons,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  sister  vessels:  Corsair  I., 
for  Mr.  C.  J.  Osborn,  and  Stranger,  for  Mr.  George  Osgood.  They  were  of 
iron,  and  schooner-rigged,  187  feet  over  all,  173  feet  6  inches  water-line,  23 
feet  8  inches  breadth,  i  i  feet  6  inches  depth  of  hold,  and  i  o  feet  6  inches  draught. 

The  engines  were  two  -  cylinder  compound, 
cylinders  24  and  44  inches  by  24  inches, 
driving  a  single  screw,  with  two  Scotch  boil- 
ers 10  feet  6  inches  by  11  feet.  These  two 
yachts,  while  not  strikingly  handsome  in  ap- 
pearance even  tor  their  day,  have  done  excel- 
lent service  in  nearly  twenty  years  of  use. 
Corsair  I.,  under  the  name  of  Kanapaha, 
being  lost  in  the  West  Indies  in  1898  while 
in  the  service  of  a  newspaper  during  the  war. 
In  the  same  year  John  Roach  built  the  iron 
steam-yacht  Yosemite  of  170  feet  water-line, 
for  Mr.  William  Belden,  of  New  York ;  she 
was  not  a  success,  and  was  finally  sold  to  the 
Fisheries  Department  of  Canada.  Two  other 
smaller  boats,  Viking  and  Utowana,  designed 
and  built  by  John  Roach  &  Son,  at  Chester, 
Pa.,  in  1883,  the  latter  now  well  known  as 
Oneida,  have  also  proved  their  good  qualities  in  many  years  ot  constant  use. 
This  quartet  has  proved  far  more  successful  than  many  other  larger  and  more 
costly  yachts  built  about  the  same  period. 

In  1 88 1  Mr.  James  Gordon  Bennett  built  his  first  steam-yacht.  Polynia, 
designed  by  her  builders.  Ward  &  Stanton,  of  135  leet  water-line,  but  not  a 
success.  The  following  year  he  had  from  the  same  firm  the  fine  sea-going  steam- 
yacht  Namouna,  designed  by  St.  Clare  J.  Byrne,  the  noted  English  designer  of 
steam-yachts.  She  is  of  iron,  with  three  masts,  and  is  226  feet  10  inches  over 
all,  217  feet  water-line,  26  feet  4  inches  breadth,  and  14  feet  3  inches  draught. 
She  has  repeatedly  crossed  the  Atlantic,  and  has  made  many  cruises  in  European 
waters.  In  1883  the  Cramps  built  for  Mr.  Jay  Gould  the  steam-yacht  Atalanta, 
of  about  212  feet  water-line,  but  she  did  not  prove  a  success,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year  she  was  cut  apart  amidships  and  lengthened  to  her  present  size  ot  228 
feet  9  inches.  The  following  year  witnessed  the  launch  of  another  very  large 
yacht,  Nourmahal,  designed  by  Gustav  Hillmann  and  built  by  Harlan  &  Hol- 
lingsworth,  at  Wilmington,  Del. 

With  the  fleet  afloat    at    this  period — 1881-84 — including  the  very  large 


A.  L.  Barber. 


Steam  -  Yachting  in   America 


J 


399 


yachts  just  mentioned,  a  large  number  of  wooden  coasting  yachts  of  75  to  100 
feet  water-line,  both  flush-decked  and  with   trunk  cabins,  and  small  launches  in 
great  numbers,  some  of  them   very  fast — steam-yachting   held  a  secure  position 
in  spite  of  the  existing  opposition  on  the    part   of  many  old  yachtsmen.      As  far 
back  as   1875,  when   the    steam-yacht    division    of  the   New  York  Yacht    Club 
numbered   but   ten  vessels,  a  prize  was  offered 
in   the  Twenty  -  ninth   Annual    Regatta,   and 
three  yachts  started,  all  designed  and  built  by 
Mr.  Jacob   Lorillard.      Lurline    won    by    ten 
seconds    from    Ideal,   while    Lookout    broke 
down.      A  tew  weeks  later   Ideal  and  Look- 
out   raced    around    Long    Island,    from   Fort 
Schuyler   out   to   sea   and    back   by    Montauk 
Point    and   the    Sound,   for   a   cup    valued    at 
^1,000.     Ideal  won,  her  time  being  18  hours, 
22  minutes,  45  seconds,  with  Lookout  2  hours, 
18  minutes,  34  seconds  astern.      The  average 
speed  of  Ideal   was  1 2  y^    knots.      Apart  from 
these  two  races,  very  few  attempts  were  made 
to    establish    by    public    trials    over    accurate 
courses   the   claims  freely  made  of  what  was 
in   those  days  high  speed,  each    owner    hav- 
ing   his   own   ideas   unhampered    by  trouble- 
some figures.      In  1883  the  American  Yacht  Club  was  organized  by  the  owners 
of  some  of  the  larger  steam-yachts  of  New  York,  and  a  station  was   established 
at  Milton  Point,  on  Long  Island  Sound,  a  handsome  house  being  erected  in  1887. 
In  1884  the  young  club  held  its  first  cruise  and  regatta,  the  original  programme 
being  to  race   from   Larchmont   to   New   London   on  August  7th,  and  again   to 
Newport  on  the  next  day.      The  yachts  were  divided  into  two  classes,  Yosemite, 
still   owned  by   John   Roach,  and  Atalanta,  Jay  Gould,  being   in   the  first  class; 
and  Vedette,  Sophia,  Natalie,  Sphinx,  Camilla,  Promise,  Magenta,  and  Rival  in  the 
second  class.      Atalanta  covered  the  course  in   4   hours,  44  minutes,  45  seconds, 
beating  Yosemite  by  28  minutes,  45  seconds,  even  time,  Yosemite   allowing  her 
13  minutes,  6  seconds  in  addition.      The  smaller  class  was  not  timed,  but  V^edette 
was  declared  the  winner,  with  the  little  Rival  second.      The  race  was  an  elabo- 
rate affair,  the    Iron    Steamer  Cygnus   carrying   a   large   party  over    the   course. 
The  second  day's  programme  was  changed,  the  proposed  race  to  Newport  being 
abandoned  and  rowing  races  substituted,  the  fleet  disbanding  on  the  third  day. 

In  1885  the  second  regatta  was  held,  on  a  more  extensive  scale,  nine  prizes 
being  offered  for  the  different  classes  under  four  separate  systems  of  time  allow- 


E.   C.  Benedict. 


400 


Steam  -  Yachting  in  America 


ance.  Seven  of  these  prizes  were  for  the  principal  race,  over  the  official  course 
of  the  club,  from  Larchmont  to  New  London,  80  nautical  miles,  the  other  two, 
for  yachts  and  launches  not  over  50  feet  water-line,  being  for  a  race  from  New 

London  to  Shelter  Island  on  the  second  day. 
As  this  was  the  most  important  race  of 
steam-yachts  ever  held  in  this  country,  it  may 
be  well  to  give  the  official  record,  as  is  shown 
in  the  table  below. 

The  great  feature  of  the  race  was  the 
new  Herreshoff  yacht  Stiletto,  afterward  sold 
to  the  United  States  Government  for  use  as  a 
torpedo-boat.  It  was  announced  after  the 
race  that  Stiletto  had  won  the  Commodore's 
cup  and  Isherwood  cup  ;  Utowana  the  Lund- 
borg  cup;  No.  246,  a  new  Cramp  boat  origi- 
nally known  by  her  shop  number,  but  later 
on  named  Peerless,  the  Kinney  cup ;  Rival 
and  Viola,  each  an  Emery  cup.  Atalanta  had 
no  competitor,  under  the  restrictions  govern- 
ing the  prize,  so  was  not  awarded  the  Emery 
cup  in  her  class.  So  complicated  were  the 
various  systems  ot  allowance  that  it  was  not  until  the  following  winter  that  the 
full   official   report  of  corrected   times  was  made.      On   the  second  day  the  fleet 

AMERICAN    YACHT  CLUB, 
Second  Annual   Regatta,   July   i6,    i88j. 

ENTRIES. 


Isaac  E.   Emerson. 


Name. 

1 

11 

U  td 

1 

si 

0. 

a,' 

u 

> 
z 

U 
W 

s 

w 

6 

Q 

h 

0 
I- 

id 

1 

0 
5 

0 

Id 

Other 
Boilers. 

Entered  bv 

D 

Ft.  In. 

Lbs. 

1st 
Class. 

2d 
Class 

Ent'd 

Class. 

Tubular 
Boilers. 

J.  C.  Hoagland.  .. 
J.  M.  Seymour.  .  . 

H.   M.  S. 

Lagonda 

Radha 

I 

2 

3 

4 
<, 
6 

7 
8 

9 
10 
II 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 

17 
IS 

19 
20 

118 

135 
90 

91 

63  9 

131 
100    I 
122 

88  3 
87  8 

74  3 
90 

228  9 
52 

37 

52  9 

34 

Tub. 

Coil. 
Tub. 

ti 

Coil. 
Tub. 

125 
100 
90 
130 
130 

120 

100 

80 

100 

I  So 
no 

Ent'd 

Ent'd 

Ent'd 
<( 

Ent'd 

Ent'd 
Ent'd 

Ent'd 



6    13   31 

5  46  31 

Stiletto 

John  B.  Herreshoff. 
JohnB.  Herreshoff. 
Norman  L.  JVlunro. 
C.  H.  Osgood 

4  42  34 

6  44  10 

Norma 

Sophia 

Utowana 

Lurline 

Rival 

Skylark 

Aida. 

Ent'd 

Ent'd 

Disabled. 

W.  E.  Connor 

6  45   40 

J.    A.   Baker 

A.  E.  Bateman,  ,  . 
W.  P.  Douglas.  . . 

Jay  Gould 

Cyrus  W.  Field,  Jr. 

6  36   58 

7  17  42 
6  23  35 

Atalanta 

Ent'd 

Ent'd 

Ent'd 

Ent'd 

4  53  50 

*Cramp's 

Ent'd 

Cramp  &  Co 

F.  A.  Mitchell..  . 

5  05  52 

Viola 

Coil. 

125 

Ent'd 

Ent'd 

Ent'd 

J.    P.    Kennedy... 
lay   Gould 

8  49  37 

Surprise 

Daphne 

Gem 

Marion 



Cyrus  W.  Field,  Jr. 

*  Then  known  as  No.  246,  afterward  Peerless,  of  Cleveland. 


Steam  -  Yachting  in  America 


401 


ran   across  to    Shelter   Island,  but   only  one  launch,  the  Herreshoflf  Surprise,  en- 
tered for  the  Manning  cup,  so  there  was  no  race. 

The  third  regatta,  in  1886,  was  similar  in  course  and  conditions,  but  with 
only  eight  starters,  Atalanta  beating  Yosemite. 
The  best  time  made  by  her  over  the  accu- 
rately marked  course  of  80  nautical  miles  was 
a  little  over  i  7  knots ;  while  the  smaller  yachts 
which  had  steamed  for  some  years  on  alleged 
records  of  nearly  as  high  speed  were  official- 
ly timed  at  something  much  nearer  to  1 2 
miles.  The  notable  feature  of  this  regatta 
was  a  new  HerreshofF  launch,  the  Henrietta, 
of  46  feet  9  inches  water-line,  which,  though 
not  formally  entered,  was  the  second  boat  over 
the  course,  her  time  being  5  hours,  22  min- 
utes, 14  seconds.  On  the  second  day  she 
started  against  Surprise  for  the  Manning  cups, 
but  the  race  ended  in  protests,  and  a  quarrel 
followed  by  a  good  deal  of  newspaper  con- 
troversy later  on.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
second   regatta  of  the   American  Yacht  Club 

in  1885  marked  the  climax  of  steam-yacht  racing,  but  the  club,  with  a 
large  and  wealthy  membership,  continued  its  endeavor  to  put  racing  on  a  per- 
manent basis,  and  in  1887  established  a  costly  silver  trophy,  over  three  feet 
in  height,  as  the  emblem  of  international  supremacy  in  steam-yachting  just  as 
the  American  Cup  is  in  the  sailing  fleet.  The  experiences  of  three  years  had, 
however,  been  such  as  to  chill  the  ardor  of  most  steam-yacht  owners,  who,  after 
spending  large  sums  in  the  special  preparation  of  their  boats  for  the  annual 
races,  failed  to  make,  under  racing  conditions,  the  speed  which  they  claimed  in 
ordinary  cruising  service.  Not  only  has  no  challenge  ever  been  received  for  the 
international  trophy,  but  the  club  has  long  since  abandoned  all  attempts  at  the 
racing  of  its  steam  fleet  and  for  some  years  has  given  an  annual  regatta  for  sail- 
ing-yachts only.  At  the  present  time,  while  higher  and  higher  speed  is  demanded 
by  owners,  there  is  no  disposition  toward  other  racing  than  that  afforded  by 
chance  meetings,  such  as  the  run  in  from  the  Lightship  after  a  Cup  race,  in 
which  no  times  are  taken  and  no  indisputable  records  established. 

The  building  of  such  fast  yachts  and  launches  as  Stiletto,  Surprise,  and 
Henrietta  about  1885  attracted  much  attention,  and  several  very  wealthy  men, 
owners  of  larger  yachts,  took  up  this  branch  of  the  sport.  For  some  years  the 
Herreshoffs  held  the  field  in  fast  yachts  and  launches,  but  in    1887   a   new  com- 


Alexander  Van  Rensselaer. 


402 


Steam  -  Yachting  in  America 


petitor  appeared,  Mr.  C.  D.  Mosher,  a  young  engineer  who,  after  some  years 
devoted  to  a  study  of  the  subjects  of  hull  and  engine  designing,  produced  the  50- 
foot  launch  Buzz,  afterward  known  as  Yankee  Doodle.  This  little  boat  created 
a  sensation  on  her  first  appearance,  and  opened  a  hot  competition  which,  though 

carried  on  very  largely  on  paper,  produced 
some  very  fast  boats — Norwood,  designed 
by  Mr.  Mosher  in  1889,  Vamoose  and  Jav- 
elin (the  latter  not  a  success)  by  the  Her- 
reshoffs  in  1891,  Feiseen,  by  Mosher  in 
1892.  This  type  of  high-speed  launch  has 
reached  its  extreme  development  thus  far 
in  the  Ellide,  designed  by  Mr.  Mosher  in 
1897,  with  a  record  of  40  miles  per  hour 
over  a  course  specially  laid  out  on  the  Hud- 
son River. 

Up  to  a  very  recent  period  the  course 
of  development  of  the  steam-yacht  has  been 
hap-hazard  and  irregular  in  the  extreme, 
each  yacht  as  a  rule  being  built  independ- 
ently and  with  little  regard  to  improve- 
ment on  previous  boats.  In  the  majority 
of  cases  the  design  has  been  a  matter  of 
chance,  the  earlier  boats  being  modelled  by 
the  builders  of  river  and  ocean  steamers  on 
the  ox\&  hand  and  by  builders  of  sailing- 
yachts  on  the  other,  neither  being  in  any  way  fitted  to  deal  with  such  a  problem 
as  steam-yacht  designing.  In  looking  over  the  records  it  will  be  found  that 
many  of  the  largest  yachts  ot  their  day  are  of  anonymous  origin,  the  actual 
design  being  the  work  of  some  draughtsman  in  the  yard  where  each  was  built. 
Though  these  early  designers — most  of  them  of"  Scandinavian  or  German  birth 
— were  naval  architects,  and  competent  by  virtue  of  technical  training  in  the 
ordinary  commercial  work  which  was  their  specialty,  they  lacked  the  special 
training  and  experience  which  alone  gives  satisfactory  results  in  any  branch  of 
designing.  Their  yachts  were  strong,  seaworthy,  and  in  some  respects  satisfac- 
tory, but  many  of  them  were  failures,  and  even  the  best  of  them  Were  lacking 
in  important  essentials,  particularly  in  appearance. 

Between  1880  and  1885  the  sailing-yachtsmen  were  engaged  in  a  serious 
controversy  over  the  position  of  the  professional  yacht-designer,  many  influential 
yachtsmen  declaring  for  the  yacht-builder,  the  so-called  "  practical  man,"  and 
denying  the  necessity  for  the  services  of  an  educated  naval  architect  as  the  orig- 


Evans  R.  Dick. 


Steam  -  Yachting  in  America 


403 


inator  of  a  design.  Though  the  dispute  finally  ended  in  the  universal  recogni- 
tion of  the  designer  as  far  as  sailing-yachts  were  concerned,  the  steam-yachts- 
men as  a  body  continued  to  ignore  him  and  to  patronize  the  builder.  The  fact 
that  a  firm  was  noted  tor  its  river  steamers,  ocean  steamships,  or  war  vessels  was 
of  itself  accepted  as  a  guarantee  that  it 
would  produce  an  equally  perfect  steam- 
yacht  in  spite  of  the  obvious  difference  in 
the  class  of  vessel,  and  perhaps  of  conspic- 
uous failures  in  former  efforts.  Secure  in 
this  patronage,  the  different  firms  made  no 
effort  to  improve  their  yachts  in  either 
appearance,  arrangement,  or  engineering, 
in  fact  some  of  the  yachts  launched  twenty 
years  ago  compare  very  favorably  with  the 
latest  vessels  from  the  same  yards.  The 
full  possibilities  of  the  steam  -  yacht,  the 
many  openings  for  improvement,  and  the 
skill  and  experience  in  this  special  line 
which  alone  can  produce  good  results,  were 
appreciated  neither  by  builders  nor  owners ; 
neither  party  caring  to  incur  the  expense 
of  a  specialist,  but  trusting  to  the  ordinary 
force  of  the  draughting-room.  Apart  from 
the  practice  of  the  Herreshoffs,  which 
within   its  limitations   presents  evidence  of 

careful,  thorough,  and  systematic  efforts  for  improvement,  the  building  of  new 
yachts  was  largely  a  matter  of  reducing,  enlarging,  and  altering  old  designs, 
if  not  of  patching  up  old  patterns,  for  much  of  the  machinery. 

Slow  as  they  were  to  accept  the  steam-yacht,  it  must  be  said  that  when 
British  yachtsmen  once  awoke  they  went  to  work  in  the  right  way.  Some  of 
the  oldest  steam-yachts  now  afloat  came  from  the  draughting-board  of  that  veteran 
designer  Mr.  St.  Clare  J.  Byrne,  of  Liverpool,  designer  of  Mr.  Bennett's  Namouna, 
in  1882,  and  Mr.  W.  K.  Vanderbilt's  handsome  Alva,  built  in  1886.  While 
many  large  British  steam-yachts  have  been  designed  by  their  builders  (large  yards 
engaged  in  commercial  work),  the  yacht-designers  have  always  received  the  most 
liberal  encouragement  from  steam-yacht  owners.  It  is  through  this  encourage- 
ment continued  for  thirty  years,  that  the  yacht-designers,  Watson,  St.  Clare  Byrne, 
Alfred  H.  Brown,  and  W.  C.  Storey,  have  brought  the  steam-yacht  to  the  point 
of  perfection  seen  in  Rona,  Maria,  Alva,  Valiant,  Arcturus,  Rhouma,  Valhalla, 
and  the  new  Lysistrata  ;   and  at  the  same  time  that  the  builders  have  been  forced 


Howard  Gould. 


40  i 


Steam -Yachting  in  America 


by  competition  to  pay  special  attention  to  yacht-designing  as  an  important  branch 
of  their  business. 

The  early  American  steam-yachts  were  purely  of  home  origin,  except  for 
the  fact  that  many  of  the  ship  draughtsmen  of  the  day  were  Swedish  or  German 
graduates  of  different  schools  of  naval  architecture  in  their  native  countries,  and 

in  later  life  employed  in  the  draughting- 
rooms  of  the  American  ship -yards.  These 
men  have  impressed  the  plain  marks  of  their 
early  training  on  the  steam-yacht  fleet  in  a 
manner  not  easily  overlooked,  but  otherwise 
the  steam-yacht  models  were  adaptations  from 
those  of  the  fastest  steamboats  and  sailing- 
yachts.  The  first  influence  of  British  prac- 
tice, apart  from  the  building  of  Namouna 
from  an  imported  design,  began  about  1885, 
when  Mr.  E.  D.  Morgan,  at  different  times 
owner  of  such  noted  sailing-yachts  as  Vindex, 
Wanderer,  Constellation,  Gloriana,  Toma- 
hawk, Mayflower,  and  Moccasin,  brought  to 
this  country  the  Amy,  a  handsome  sea-going 
steam  -  yacht  of  639  tons,  designed  by  St. 
Clare  J.  Byrne,  and  built  in  1880  on  the 
Clyde.  The  yacht  had  been  chartered  by 
Mr.  Morgan  in  1884,  and  he  had  made  a 
voyage  from  England  through  the  Suez  Canal 
to  India  and  back  before  bringing  her  to 
America.  In  1888  he  abandoned  steam  for 
the  time  and  built  the  big  racing-schooner  Constellation,  and  later  other 
smaller  racing-cutters,  but  in  1889  he  purchased  the  English  steam-yacht  Sans 
Peur,  or  Catarina,  as  she  was  also  known.  After  she  was  wrecked  on  Matinni- 
cock  Point  and  abandoned  to  the  underwriters,  he  imported  the  little  Ituna  and 
later  the  handsome  May,  both  Watson  boats. 

At  this  period  American  yachtsmen  were  looking  for  something  better  than 
the  older  steam-yachts,  but  the  builders  failed  to  meet  the  occasion  by  improv- 
ing their  designs,  and  it  was  most  natural  that  comparisons  should  be  made 
between  the  home-built  craft  and  the  imported  yachts  that  were  seen  under  both 
the  American  and  British  ensigns  in  all  American  waters  of  the  Atlantic  Coast. 
In  the  high-sided  hull,  with  its  graceful  sheer  and  sturdy  sea-going  look,  the  ship- 
shape rig  and  careful  finish  of  every  external  detail,  the  imported  yacht  appealed 
to   the  eye  at   least,  wherever  she   was  seen   with   the  home   craft,  and  a  closer 


J.  E.   Widener. 


Steam -Yachting  in   America 


405 


examination  disclosed  many  points  of  material  superiority  in  general  design  and 
construction,  due  to  careful  planning  by  experienced  designers.  When  it 
became  known  that  the  difference  in  cost  of  construction  was  almost  as  much 
as  that  in  appearance,  and  also  on  the  side  of  the  foreign  yacht,  there  began  a 
rapid  importation  from  the  Clyde  to  the  Hudson,  to  the  manifest  neglect  of  the 
Delaware,  the  "  American  Clyde."  Under 
the  United  States  statutes  it  was  possible  to 
bring  in  any  pleasure  vessel,  provided  she 
came  on  her  own  bottom,  without  the  pay- 
ment of  duty,  and,  further,  to  fly  the  Ameri- 
can yacht  ensign  over  her  taffrail  if  she  was 
owned  by  an  American  citizen.  These  points 
once  established,  yachtsmen  were  quick  in 
availing  themselves  of  the  full  privilege,  and 
many  important  additions  were  made  to  the 
steam  fleet.  The  American  builders  rebelled 
against  this  state  of  affairs,  and  in  1891a  bill 
was  introduced  in  Congress  by  Senator  Frye, 
of  Maine,  imposing  heavy  duties  on  all  yachts 
of  foreign  build  owned  by  American  citizens, 
and  also  on  all,  wherever  owned,  which  re- 
mained for  more  than  six  months  in  Ameri- 


can waters.      This   harsh  legislation  encoun- 


tered much  opposition  from  yachtsmen  at  the 
time,  as  did  the  policy  of  the  Government 
as  shown   in  the  seizure  of  the  steam-yacht  /^    II  alters 

Conqueror,  imported   in   the    same    year   by 

Mr.  F.  W.  Vanderbilt,  and  only  released  after  a  lengthy  suit  at  law  in  which 
he  was  victorious.  Though  the  matter  was  dropped,  it  was  taken  up  anew  in 
1886,  at  the  time  when  the  large  and  costly  steam-yachts  Margarita,  May- 
flower, Varuna,  and  Nahma  were  under  construction  on  the  Clyde  for  Messrs. 
A.  J.  Drexel,  Eugene  Higgins,  Robert  Goelet,  and  Ogden  Goelet,  and  under 
the  name  of  the  "  Payne  Bill  "  became  a  law  early  in  1897. 

Though  the  intent  of  the  law,  to  exclude  all  foreign-built  yachts  from 
American  waters,  is  plainly  apparent,  its  onerous  and  illiberal  provisions  are 
so  ambiguous  that  its  full  force  is  still  a  matter  of  doubt,  and  likely  to  re- 
main so  until  it  is  construed  by  the  courts.  At  the  same  time  its  moral 
effect  operated  up  to  1899,  when  the  Watson  yacht  Rona  was  imported  by 
Mr.  A.  L.  Barber,  of  New  York,  and  renamed  Sapphire,  flying  the  American 
flag.      Since  then   the  steam-yacht    Erl    King    and   the    cutters    Isolde,   Astrild, 


4o6 


Steam  -  Yachting  in  America 


and   Hester  have  been  imported  from  British  waters,  thus  far  being  unmolested 
by  the  law. 

After  his  success  with  Puritan  in  the  defence  of  the  America  Cup,  Mr. 
Edward  Burgess  was  called  on  to  design  all  varieties  of  craft,  among  them  steam- 
yachts.  Though  neither  an  engineer  nor 
a  steam-yachtsman,  and  with  little  pre- 
vious training  as  a  naval  architect,  he 
turned  out  several  very  good  boats,  such 
as  the  Hanniel,  Jathniel,  Sapphire,  and 
Unquowa ;  his  largest  steam-yacht,  the 
auxiliary  Wild  Duck,  was  not  a  success, 
requiring  the  addition  of  most  unsightly 
sponsons  to  her  sides,  which  have  since 
disfigured  her.  Though  successful  in 
many  other  classes  of  vessels,  it  was  not 
until  1895  that  Mr.  A.  Gary  Smith  could 
be  induced  to  take  up  the  designing  of 
a  steam-yacht,  his  Free  Lance,  designed 
tor  Mr.  F.  Augustus  Schermerhorn,  prov- 
ing quite  fast  and  admirably  adapted  for 
her  owner's  use  about  Long  Island  Sound  ; 
but  beyond  a  number  of  small  auxiliary 
yachts  and  one,  Genesee,  launched  in 
October,  1 900,  a  sea-going  schooner  of 
I  10  feet  water-line,  he  has  done  little  in 
power-driven  pleasure  craft. 

After  visiting  this  country  in  1885 
and  again  in  1886  with  the  challenging 
cutters  Genesta  and  Galatea,  both  de- 
signed by  him,  Mr.  J.  Beavor  Webb  set- 
tled permanently  in  New  York  in  1888, 
to  continue  his  profession  of  yacht-de- 
signer and  engineer.  His  first  American 
steam-yacht  was  the  Sultana,  a  handsome  three-masted  auxiliary,  built  for  Mr. 
Trenor  L.  Park  in  1889.  Two  years  later  he  designed  a  new  Corsair,  the  sec- 
ond of  the  name,  for  Mr.  J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  a  full-powered  steam-yacht  of 
204  feet  water-line,  and  at  the  same  time  the  auxiliary  Utowana,  for  Mr.  W.  W. 
Durant.  In  1892  he  turned  out  the  auxiliary  three-masted  schooner  Intrepid,  for 
Mr.  Lloyd  Phoenix.  Since  then  he  has  designed  the  twin  -  screw  Sovereign, 
of  212  feet  water-line,  for  Mr.  M.  C.  D.  Borden,  and   the  third  Corsair,  also  a 


J.  Murray  Mitchell. 


Steam  -  Yachting  in  America 


407 


twin-screw  yacht,  of  252  feet  water-line,  the  flagship   of  the   New  York  Yacht 
Club   during  Commodore  Morgan's  last  term  of  office  in   1899. 

After  building  the  wooden  steam-yacht  Sagamore  in  1888  from  the  designs 
of  W.  P.  Pattee,  the  New  England  Shipbuilding  Company  launched  the 
Eleanor,  designed  by  C.  R.  Hanscom,  in 
1894,  both  for  the  same  owner,  Mr, 
William  A.  Slater.  The  latter  vessel,  a 
bark-rigged  auxiliary  of  208  feet  water- 
line,  made  a  voyage  around  the  world, 
and  proved  herself  a  good  sea-boat,  and 
in  every  way  a  most  comfortable  vessel, 
especial  pains  being  taken  in  the  design 
to  secure  space,  light,  and  ventilation. 
Following  her  from  the  same  yard  came 
the  smaller  yachts  Peregrine  and  Illa- 
warra,  not  particularly  successful,  and  in 
1898  the  big  Aphrodite,  of  260  feet 
water-line,  a  high-speed  yacht  with  a  lib- 
eral sail  plan  in  addition. 

Though  his  reputation  was  first  made 
in  sailing-yachts,  Mr.  William  Gardner, 
after  being  associated  with  Mr.  Mosher 
in  the  designing  of  Feiseen  and  Nada  in 
1 89 1,  has  found  a  growing  practice,  as 
yachtsmen  have  by  slow  degrees,  learned 
to  look  to  the  designer  first  before  the 
builder,  and  with  his  present  partner,  Mr. 
Irving  Cox,  has  turned  out  a  number  of 
steam-yachts,  Vergana,  Parthenia,  Sylph, 
Malay,  Eugenia,  Aileen  I.  and  Aileen  II., 
Idalia,  Alberta,  Oneonta,  and  some  smaller 
craft.  All  of  these  are  distinguished  by 
their  appearance,  as  well  as  by  other  more 

essential  good  qualities.  At  the  present  time,  in  spite  of  the  occasional  con- 
struction of  such  craft  as  the  American  and  the  Niagara  after  the  old  methods, 
the  whole  field  of  steam-yachting  is  open  to  the  professional  designer  who  can 
demonstrate  his  abilities  to  turn  out  a  successful  craft.  In  addition  to  those 
mentioned,  two  of  the  younger  men  who  began  with  sailing-yachts,  H.  C. 
Wintringham  and  H.  J.  Gielow,  are  now  turning  out  steam-yachts  that  are 
fully  up  to  modern  requirements. 


F.   G.  Bourne. 


4o8 


Steam  -  Yachting  in  America 


The  progress  of  steam-yacht  design  in  America  has  been  retarded  by  three 
causes  :  The  absence  of  thorough  technical  training  and  the  faikire  to  study  the 
subject  as  it  deserved  on  the  part  of  the  builders,  down  to  very  recent  times  ; 
the  lack  of  full  and  authentic  data  covering  the  dimensions  and  performances  of 
the  yachts;    and  the   characteristic   demand   of  American  yachtsmen   for  speeds 

that  are  at  least  impracticable,  if  not  im- 
possible. Secure  of  a  certain  patronage 
from  owners  who  were  but  poorly  in- 
formed as  to  what  they  might  with  rea- 
son expect  in  a  well-designed  yacht,  too 
many  ot  the  builders  were  content  to  turn 
out  such  craft  as  paid  them  best  for  the 
time  being,  without  any  special  outlay  tor 
new  designs  or  patterns  ;  and  even  those 
who  experimented  with  a  view  to  im- 
provement were  heavily  handicapped  by 
their  enforced  adherence  to  old  methods 
due  to  ignorance  of  the  general  progress 
ot  the  world  in  naval  architecture  and 
marine  engineering.  While  other  pro- 
fessions have  for  many  years  boasted  of 
societies  and  journals  for  the  exchange  of 
ideas  and  the  diffusion  of  technical  knowl- 
edge, it  was  not  until  1893  that  the 
American  Society  of  Naval  Architects  and 
Marine  Engineers  was  organized;  in  the  absence  of  such  a  body  there  was  no 
concerted  effort  toward  the  collection  and  exchange  ot  data,  valuable  as  such  a 
course  would  have  been  to  all  parties. 

While  the  attainment  of  higher  speeds  must  always  stand  as  one  of  the  great 
ends  of  marine  engineering,  there  are  certain  other  essentials  which  can  only  be 
neglected  at  the  cost  of  general  progress.  In  steam-yachting  the  demand  for 
speeds  out  of  proportion  to  the  development  of  the  day  has  led  to  the  establish- 
ment and  perpetuation  of  types  that  are  by  no  means  conducive  to  the  best 
interests  of  the  sport.  In  all  sizes  and  classes,  and  at  different  periods,  the  effort 
to  get  a  higher  speed  than  the  general  conditions  warranted  has  resulted  in  the 
spoiling  of  many  yachts,  the  hull  being  tilled  with  machinery  until  there  was 
no  space  left  for  the  owner  and  his  guests;  while  at  the  same  time  the  power 
was  not  sufficient  to  give  the  absurd  speed  demanded  and  probably  guaranteed. 
With  a  judicious  planning  of  the  engines  and  boilers  to  give  a  speed  suitable  to 
the  size  and  general  use   of  the  yacht,  ample  space  would  have  been  lett  for  the 


J.   Harvey  Ladew. 


Steam -Yachting  in   America 


409 


living-apartments  of  both  owner  and  crew.  Even  at  the  present  time  yachts- 
men fail  to  realize  the  price  they  must  pay,  in  living  space  and  in  innumerable 
details  of  comfort,  for  a  very  small  increase  of  speed. 

The  designing  of  a  steam-yacht  demands  a  thorough  knowledge  of  naval 
architecture,  and  also  of  this  particular  class  of  vessel  both  as  a  whole  and  in 
detail  of  form  of  hull,  external  appear- 
ance, machinery,  and  accommodation. 
The  demands  of  the  owner  are  neces- 
sarily so  great  that  the  skill  of  the  most 
expert  designer  is  taxed  to  reconcile  the 
many  conflicting  conditions;  to  secure  in 
a  form  that  is  suitable  for  the  required 
speed,  both  the  internal  space  and  the  dis- 
placement necessary  to  float  the  weights; 
to  divide  the  space  equitably  between 
owner,  crew,  and  machinery,  arranging 
the  saloons,  staterooms,  and  passages  so  as 
to  secure  comfort,  light,  and  ventilation, 
and  also  attaining  the  same  ends  on  a  less 
elaborate  scale  in  the  officers'  and  crews' 
quarters.  When  it  comes  to  the  machinery 
there  is  to  be  considered  the  question  of 
power  within  very  narrow  limits  of  weight 
and  space,  the  engines  and  boilers  must 
be  as  compact  as  possible,  doing  their  work 

with  a  minimum  of  fuel,  both  on  account  of  the  cost  of  coal  and  the  space  re- 
quired to  store  a  supply  for  long  voyages.  A  man  may  be  a  naval  architect  and 
an  expert  ship-draughtsman,  he  may  be  a  skilled  machinist  and  marine  engineer, 
a  master  capable  of  commanding  the  largest  steam-vessels,  or  a  builder  familiar 
with  every  detail  of  ship-yard  work  ;  but  unless  he  possesses  a  fairly  intimate 
knowledge  of  all  these  branches,  reinforced  by  actual  experience  in  steam-yacht 
designing,  his  work  is  almost  certain  to  be  a  failure.  One  can  pick  out  to-day 
in  any  gathering  of  the  steam  fleet,  the  builder's  yacht,  the  engineer's  yacht,  the 
captain's  yacht ;  each  marked  by  defects  and  crudities  due  to  a  lack  of  knowl- 
edge of  some  of  the  essential  elements  of  steam-yacht  designing. 

The  American  steam-yacht  has  been  developed  mainly  by  men  who,  with 
unlimited  means  and  opportunities  for  leisure,  have  nevertheless  confined 
themselves  closely  to  business,  never  getting  further  from  it  than  in  the  brief 
time  required  to  cross  the  Atlantic  on  a  fast  liner.  Whatever  other  ends  they 
may  have  had  in  view,  the  controlling  one  has  been  the  quick  return  to  business 


C.  H.  Postley. 


4-10 


Steam  ~  Yachting  in  America 


after  a  brief  outing.  One  of  the  main  uses  of  even  the  largest  yachts  has  been 
to  convey  the  owners  as  rapidly  as  possible  between  home  and  office,  and  for 
this  purpose  speed  has  always  been  given  prominence  over  more  sterling  require- 
ments such  as  seaworthiness,  comfortable  living  space,  and  steaming  radius. 
Knowing  nothing  of  the   technical  side  of  the   question   and  relying  upon   his 

captain  and  the  builder,  the  owner  has 
demanded  absolute  impossibilities  and  in 
the  end  has  obtained  a  yacht  in  which 
the  actual  service  speed  fell  far  short  of 
the  builder's  guarantee,  while  the  lim- 
ited internal  space  was  sacrificed  to  en- 
gines and  boilers,  the  result  being  a  slow 
boat,  of  unseaworthy  dimensions  and 
model,  and  with  small  and  cramped 
cabins.  One  of  the  most  promising  in- 
dications of  the  new  century  is  the 
change  of  sentiment  but  recently  made 
evident  in  this  respect.  Instead  of  at- 
tempting a  speed  of  twenty  knots  in  a 
cruising  yacht  of  200  feet  length,  owners 
are  now  awake  to  the  fact  that  they  can 
obtain  far  more  for  a  smaller  outlay  by 
means  of  two  yachts,  a  well-designed 
cruising  vessel  of  perhaps  fourteen  knots 
actual  service  speed,  and  a  really  high- 
speed cabin  launch  of  some  80  feet 
length  that  will  give  a  full  twenty  knots  for  continuous  runs  of  a  hundred  miles 
or  so.  The  large  yacht  will  be  used  for  cruising,  along  the  coast  or  off  shore, 
being  specially  designed  for  such  work.  The  launch,  with  a  small  crew  and  a 
snug  cabin  and  stateroom,  is  always  ready  to  get  under  way  to  carry  the  owner 
to  business  or  for  a  day's  run  to  a  regatta  or  a  week's  cruise  about  the  Sound. 
Such  a  simple  division  of  conflicting  functions  hitherto  united  in  one  large 
yacht  opens  up  new  and  unlimited  possibilities  of  improvement  in  steam 
pleasure  craft. 

The  best  results  yet  attained  in  steam-yachts  are  still  short  of  what  may  be 
had  by  the  direct  co-operation  of  owner  and  designer  in  the  production  of  yachts 
specifically  adapted  to  American  waters  and  American  uses.  In  view  of  the 
large  outlay  on  the  part  of  the  owner,  he  is  interested  as  a  mere  matter  of  business 
in  knowing  how  much  he  may  expect  in  the  way  of  speed,  accommodation,  and 
general  good  qualities.      He  must  understand  as  a  mere  business  proposition  that 


H.    Clay  Pierce. 


Steam  -  Yachting  in   America 


4.1 1 


any  saving  at  the  outset,  through  such  false  economy  as  the  use  of  old  designs 
for  the  hull  and  the  alteration  of  old  patterns  for  the  engines,  will  ultimately 
mean  the  loss  in  cost  of  coal  alone  of  far  more  than  the  fee  of  a  competent 
designer,  to  say  nothing  of  the  heavy  chances  of  an  utter  failure.  With  such 
an  understanding  of  the  general  points  of  steam-yacht  design  as  may  be  acquired 
by  any  intelligent  man  without  a  technical  training,  the  steam-yacht  owners  as 
a  class  may  do  their  part  with  the  designers  toward  the  creation  of  a  class  of 
American  steam-yachts  that  will  rank  as  high  as  did  the  old  clipper  in  her  day 
and  as  do  now  the  American  war-ship  and  sailing-yacht. 


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